Me, Myself and I
by halicandropss
Summary: Willow lived a fairly ordinary life in the little town of Mystic Falls. Her mother was dead, her father was never around and her brother did nothing but watch her every move. And attempting to pay bills that were just never going to get paid was the only stressful thing she could handle. But accidentally stumbling into a world filled with vampires? Not what she needed. S1. Rewrite.
1. Delinquent

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries. **

* * *

She walks down the street  
Alone in the dark  
Her head's held up high  
And she's got nothing fear

As she crosses the road  
She looks to the stars and asks for advice  
On where to go  
Where to go from here

**\- Jona Vark by Gypsy And The Cat**

* * *

Chapter One - Delinquent

The blaring sound of an alarm was what awoke Willow from her slumber.

Willow groaned loudly, reaching a hand out of her bed and haphazardly knocked the top of the alarm clock to turn it off. She sighed and buried her head back underneath the covers. Who would care if she was late for her first day of school anyway?

Three bangs came from the otherside of her bedroom door, "Willow, c'mon! I got work to get to myself, so get up!" Her older brother, Raven, called.

Willow begrudgingly pulled her head out of the covers, immediately having sunlight cause her eyes to squint.

She sighed loudly and fell back to her bed. She was awake, so she may as well get up and go to school. _What else do I have to do anyway?_ And Raven probably wouldn't stop his nagging. She shook her head, before pushing herself out of her bed.

Willow threw on her usual attire of washed out skinny jeans, any old shirt she could find (which was some old green and blue checkered shirt, picking a plain black vest top to go underneath it) and her usual grey high top sneakers. She never really did much with her hair, only brushed it and left it to fall into its naturally loose curls.

She applied her make-up in a quick manner too, only checking in the mirror to see how she looked once. "That'll do." She mumbled to herself. She grabbed her old denim vest before leaving her bedroom.

"Finally decided to get your ass out of that bed, huh?" Raven asked her as he took a sip of his coffee.

Willow narrowed her eyes at him, "Fuck you."

Raven chuckled, "Jeez, you gonna use that mouth on your teachers?"

Willow rolled her eyes and reached around him, grabbing the mug that was filled with coffee, "If they don't piss me off, maybe I'll be nice."

Raven sighed, "Please, Willow. Don't get into trouble today."

Willow shrugged her shoulders, "Like I said; if they don't piss me off." She took a sip of her coffee and then smirked at him, "Then again, it is fun to annoy them."

"Willow," Raven began in that same stupid tone that was used to try and warn her to not cause trouble, "It's not me who's just gonna be pissed at you if you end up in the principle's office at the end of the day. Aunt Liz isn't gonna be exactly happy about it."

Willow scoffed and put her mug down, stepping away from her brother and walking to one of the chairs in their little apartment, and grabbing her school bag. "I don't know why she freaks out over me so much."

"Because you're her goddamn niece, idiot. Then again, everything she says you ignore. Although, you do that to me too."

"Aww," Willow cooed mockingly, "You two shouldn't take it personally. I don't listen to anyone." She grinned at him as she put her hands in the pocket of her vest, feeling her cigarettes and lighter in there. She felt relief come over her at that.

Raven rolled his eyes in aggravation, "C'mon. I got work and you gotta go to school. And you know, stay there for the whole day please."

"Fuck sake, you ask a lot of me. Don't cause trouble _and_ stay in school for the whole day." She shook her head. "That's like, child abuse."

Raven opened the front door, gesturing for her to leave, "You know what, if you do end up leaving half way through the day, do not go around "expressing" yourself."

Willow scoffed, "Now that, I don't understand what the problem is." She pulled out a cigarette from her pocket and lit it. Raven saw her do it and sighed; he'd given up trying to stop her. She did worse things other than smoking.

"You're putting graffiti on the walls of public buildings; that's the problem." He opened the door to their car, getting into the driver's side.

This argument again. She sat into the passenger seat and rolled down the window, "I'm trying to assert my talent-"

Raven scoffed as he pulled away from the sidewalk and began making the journey to the school. "You're trying to 'assert your talent'?" He shook his head, "What the hell are you even talking about?"

"You always do this!" Willow spat as she took a drag from her cigarette. She blew the smoke out of her mouth and through the open window, "This is who I am! I am an artist!"

"You can be an 'artist'," He lifted one of his hands up to make quotation marks, "by painting on a fucking easel, or, or on paper for God's sake!"

"I do!" Willow insisted, blowing smoke into her brother's face, making him cringe. "You don't even fucking look at any work I do on paper. The only way people care or notice is if I put it on the wall of the local library." She flicked the ash off her cigarette out the window.

Raven stopped at a red traffic light, "Just enough, Willow. I am so sick of all..." He gestured towards her, "this."

Willow's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion as she pondered for a few seconds on what he meant. Finally, she blinked. "What does that even mean?"

They started moving again, "It means that your Aunt and I, even Caroline for God's sake, can't handle this recreational bullshit anymore. Ever since Mom-"

"Don't." Willow interrupted immediately. Her tone was hard and her face had lost all softness to it. "Don't bring her into this."

Raven was quiet for a second before he sighed, "Y'know what? No. I will bring her into this. Because everything that you do is because of her." Willow didn't say anything, so Raven continued.

"Look, I know that you have always been a little... different. And you've always been a trouble maker, but it was never this bad." He shook his head as he came in sight of the school. "And it was after Mom... after she did what she did, that you just went completely off the rails. And you know what, I was willing to leave you to it. Let it out of your system, let you grieve in your own way. I thought it would only be a few months, a year at best. But no, four years later and you're still..." He gestured to her again.

Just as he finished his speech, he parked outside of the school. Willow was silent, her eyes boring hatefully at the school. He didn't know anything. He knew nothing of her. He didn't understand how much it hurt her, how much their mother's death had destroyed her completely.

But everything that she did now, wasn't just for her. People saw nothing but a small town delinquent now anyway, and Willow firmly believed that there was no point changing who you were if people already had an opinion of you.

Willow threw the cigarette out the window and roughly opened the door. "You don't know shit, Ray." She told him coldly, before slamming the door in his face.

She pivoted on the spot, stamping on her used cigarette as she did so, and made her way towards the school.

* * *

**So as you can see, very different. Raven's in it from the start. And he's the naggy and annoying older brother. Also, you may have heard them mention Liz being their Aunt. Well, Willow and Raven are the niece and nephew to Liz Forbes, and therefore the cousins of Caroline. So very different. I didn't do it out of a whim; I actually felt it would work better for her to be apart of their family. Willow is a lovely contrast to Caroline and I'm eager to do moments with the two of them. **

**So as you can see, Willow is a delinquent. A major one at that. Also, Willow is not friends with Elena, Bonnie and Caroline in this story. As you can tell from her personality, she's involved in the wrong crowd. And I felt like Elena wouldn't be friends with someone like that, but Jeremy is actually the BFF of Willow, despite their age difference. **

**This chapter was just to establish the relationship that she has with Raven and to show the difference between my original story. I hope you enjoy this chapter. We will be getting into the first episode soon. **

**Also, I've made a new account on Polyvore (since I don't know how to delete my old account. If anybody knows how, please tell me, thanks). I go by the same name as I do on here, I've posted her first outfit on there. **


	2. Youth

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries **

* * *

We've been here forever  
And here's the frozen proof  
I could scream forever  
We are the poisoned youth

** \- Centuries by Fall Out Boy **

* * *

Chapter Two - Youth

Willow had only be on the school grounds for a few minutes and already she wanted to leave. With her hands stuffed into her denim jacket pockets, she made her way around the back of the school. She often hung out around this part of the school, though it was where the people who took drugs went to all the time. Sometimes she ended up joining them. But today she had agreed to meet Jeremy there.

And she knew why he wanted to meet there. Because chances were that Vicki Donovan would be there.

Jeremy had been having some kind of Summer fling with Vicki. Which was fine with Willow. She used to be pretty good friends with Vicki, and she believed that the girl was severely misunderstood, so Willow was okay with Jeremy and Vicki being together.

She herself was with Tyler Lockwood at the time, a jock who sometimes mixed with the wrong crowd. Willow being that wrong crowd. They had been together a few months, but it ended a few weeks ago. All because of Vicki.

Okay, so maybe it wasn't all of her fault. Tyler could have had some restraint and not slept with her at a party that Willow had also gone to. They were both as bad as eachother. And because of both Tyler and Vicki's betrayal, Willow's friendship with them had crumbled. Because not only had they hurt her, but they had hurt Jeremy too and that was not okay.

Despite this, Jeremy still pinned after Vicki, so this was why she was not surprised when she saw him talking to her. Sighing to herself, she made herself walk up to them.

"Don't take more than two in a six hour window." Jeremy said to Vicki as he handed her some drugs. She smirked and knocked them back quickly.

"Hey." Willow greeted Jeremy as she bumped her shoulder with his.

Jeremy moved slightly from her pushing him, but he turned his head and smiled down at her. "Hey." He returned the shoulder bump, but his gaze quickly turned back to Vicki.

Willow swallowed and nodded at Vicki. Vicki frowned at her, "Hey, Willow."

Willow narrowed her eyes at her and moved her attention back to Jeremy and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by an all too familiar voice, "Hey, Vicki!" Tyler called as he strolled up to them, "I knew I'd find you here with the crackheads."

Vicki grinned, "Hey," She greeted almost sultry and it made Willow roll her eyes. Tyler pulled Vicki into his arms before kissing her on her cheek. Tyler turned his gaze to Jeremy and then back to Willow.

Jeremy scowled at them as he took a drag from some weed that he had bought from someone. Willow would have to ask later on. Tyler reached over and snatched the roll up from him. "Hey, Pete Wentz called, he wants his nail polish back." He sneered.

Willow scoffed, "Really? That all you got? You're severely lacking in the insult department, Tyler."

Tyler scowled at her, obviously wanting to say something, but he was stopped by Vicki, "Ty, be nice, be nice." She said to him, with that stupid smile on her face. "You know Raven would kick your ass if you did anything, and he's Elena's little brother."

"Yeah, I know." Tyler said as he turned back to Vicki. "But that doesn't mean I can't kick _his_ ass." He pointed to Jeremy before Vicki kissed him.

Jeremy looked like a wounded puppy as they started to kiss. Willow shook her head at the two kissing. She quickly grabbed Jeremy's hand, "C'mon, Jer."

"Where're you going, Will?" She heard Tyler call out mockingly.

Rather than say anything, she raised her hand and flipped the bird at him as she dragged Jeremy into the school.

Once she got into the reception of the school she glanced up to Jeremy. Despite being younger than her, he was still far taller. But then again, she was very short.

"What the hell, Jeremy?"

"Oh, it's nice to see you too." He replied sarcastically.

She stopped before the front desk and frowned, "You know what she did to you, to me, and yet you're still interested in her." She shook her head at him.

Jeremy sighed, "Yeah, I know. We've had this conversation."

Willow nodded, "Yeah, we have. So, do you mind telling me why you're still letting her string you along?"

"Because those feelings don't just go away, Willow." He told her as she asked for the lady at the front desk to give her her timetable for the year. "And don't act like you're over Tyler, because I can see that you're not."

A frown came over Willow's features as she realised that he was kind of right. Still, that didn't mean she had to admit it. "That's different. I try and stay away from him as much as possible. You actually go looking for Vicki."

Jeremy sighed tiredly. In fact, he looked tired. Willow looked down, guilt taking over her. Vicki probably wasn't the only thing on his mind lately. He had lost his parents four months ago, and she knew from experience that getting over something like that felt like it was impossible. In fact, she didn't think that she was even over her own mother's death and it had been four years. Not to mention he had his sister, Elena and Aunt Jenna on his case constantly.

"I'm sorry." Willow said and Jeremy glanced at her as they walked down the corridor together. "You've probably got Elena and Jenna breathing down your neck 24/7 and with everything else going on..." She stopped herself from mentioning his parents' death. "And I don't think I'm one to be telling you what to do."

Jeremy shifted his rucksack on his shoulder, stealing a glance at the girl he had known his whole life. She was the same age as his sister, but she had never formed a relationship with Elena that went passed being acquaintances. In fact, Elena was completely against his friendship with Willow, especially recently. Elena thought that Willow was a bad influence on him, but Jeremy had to disagree. She had been the one constant in his life for the longest time, a crutch that he needed to keep him up.

Jeremy smiled and shook his head, draping an arm over shoulders and pulling her towards his chest, "Shut up, Willow."

Willow smiled and leant her head against his chest. She didn't usually show public signs of affection, but Jeremy was a special case. People glanced at them, eyeing them curiously and some gave them judgmental looks.

Rumors constantly went around about the two of them, usually saying that the two were sleeping together. Which was not true. Willow always saw Jeremy as a best friend, and visa versa.

"Oh, hey." Willow suddenly said, rooting around in the pockets of her denim vest jacket. "I brought this." She pulled out a small bottle filled with clear fluid. "Put these drops in your eyes. That way, your eyes won't be so red."

Jeremy took it as she discreetly handed it to him. "Thanks. Elena and Jenna won't stop watching me, they question every little thing that's different about me."

Willow tapped him on his arm, "Exactly. See; I'm one step ahead of you." She pushed him towards the men's toilets. "Go put them in now. Don't want teachers noticing." Jeremy nodded at her with a smile, and pushed the men's toilet door open and went inside, while Willow casually leaned against the wall.

Willow glanced around the corridor, watching various students as they went about finding their classes and meeting up with friends to catch up about what they did over the Summer. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone she didn't recognise walk down the corridor. He was tall, and seemed to have an air of mystery about him, with his sunglasses and leather jacket. Willow blinked and watched him as he walked towards reception.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" A voice demanded, making her pull her attention away from the new guy and towards Jeremy's older sister, Elena.

She looked furious. Her brown eyes were hard and glaring at her with a strong intensity. She had her arms crossed over her chest and looked as if she was actually waiting for an answer. If looks could kills she'd be dead right now.

Willow raised an eyebrow at her, "Gonna need a little more context than that."

"I saw him go into there," She gesture to the men's toilets. "Whatever you've given him, makes him act all weird."

Willow rolled her eyes, "Ever think that maybe he just needed to take a piss? It's a bathroom."

Elena shook her head at her, ignoring her comments. "I've tolerated you for a long time, Willow. But not anymore. Not with what he's going through right now. He needs stability right now, and you are most certainty _not_ stable."

"Well, you're right there." She said, a sardonic smile graced her features. "I am in no way stable. But unlike you, I'm not pretending to be." She smirked when saw Elena's mouth fall agape. "See you in history class, Elena." She nodded to the girl, still with a smirk on her face as she walked away. She'd talk to Jeremy later.

* * *

**Ugh, super sorry this took so long. I actually had this mostly done a while back, but life got in the way and I didn't have time to finish the ending. **

**Anyway, hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading. **


	3. New

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries **

* * *

She sees them walking in a straight line, that's not really her style

And they all got the same heartbeat, but hers is falling behind

Nothing in this world could ever bring them down

Yeah, they're invincible, and she's just in the background

**\- Cool Kids by Echosmith **

* * *

Chapter Three - New

Willow texted Jeremy that she would speak to him later after she walked away from a highly irritated Elena (she had no idea that she had walked into the boys bathroom after Jeremy) to get to biology class.

She continued staring at her phone as she walked, replying to a message from her Aunt Liz that told her to stay out of trouble while in school. She rolled her eyes, shaking her head as she went to turn around the corner. Just as she did so, someone else rounded the corner with her, causing them both to crash into one another.

"Oof!" Willow exclaimed, as she stumbled backwards and her phone clattered to the floor. She could feel her balance about to go, but someone, the person she had bumped into, managed to grabbed her hand before she fell, quickly steadying her.

"I'm so sorry." The person apologised. Willow finally looked at the other crash victim and blinked her brown eyes a few times. It was the boy from before; the new kid. She swallowed, trying to think of some intelligent response, but he continued, "Are you alright?" He asked sincerely.

Willow let out an awkward laugh, "Um... yeah. It was actually my bad. I wasn't looking where I was going and... yeah." She laughed again. He smiled at her. Willow felt like her heart got stuck in her throat at that smile. The new kid was handsome.

He leaned down and picked up her phone and handed it over to her. "You dropped this."

"Yeah, thanks." She said as she took it and looked it over for any breaks or scratches. She sighed in relief when she found none. "The amount of times I've dropped this thing and all it has is a few scratches." She joked with him. "Though I guess I'm lucky. Phones cost way too much these days." She was rambling. She closed her eyes for a few seconds in embarrassment. "I am talking _way_ too much." Willow shook her head and held her hand out towards him. "I'm Willow. Willow Anderson."

He grinned at her again. Damn, that smile was beautiful. He took her hand and clasped his fingers around hers, shaking her hand. "I'm Stefan Salvatore. Lovely to meet you, despite how we met."

Willow nodded, feeling like maybe she should let go of his hand at some point, despite the fact that she liked it too much. "So, Stefan," She began, testing his name on her tongue, "You're new, got any idea of where your first class is?"

Stefan laughed, "No idea. Actually just hoping to wander around aimlessly for the day and hope that I find at least one class."

Willow smiled at him, a laugh escaping her. "Well, that sounds like a really good plan. Although, I could just help you get to your first class." She shrugged her shoulders playfully.

Stefan gave her a lopsided grin and tilted his head to the side, as if he was thinking about it. Eventually he nodded and pulled his timetable out of his back pocket. He scanned it for a second, before he said, "Biology in room B:36 with Mis. Evans." Stefan glanced back at her to see if she knew where the room was, but saw that she had a knowing look on her face and a gleam in her eyes, like the greatest thing had happened.

"Stefan, you have found yourself a biology partner."

Stefan shook his head with a smile at the coincidence. Willow shrugged her shoulders again in that devil-may-care kind of way. "Well, I need to go to the bathroom right now, so..."

"I'll be right here. No worries." She saluted him as he walked around her towards the boys bathroom where she was just a few minutes ago.

Willow leaned against the wall, a smile on her lips. Willow liked this new kid. He was handsome, knew how to joke around and seemed like he could be nice. But then again, she didn't know him really. But being in his classes and showing him around, then she could get to know him. And besides, she had a right to move on to someone else, to try and get over Tyler. Maybe something good could happen this year.

"Who was that? Who were you talking to?" A blonde girl who looked to be in almost hysterics, named Caroline Forbes and Willow's cousin, demanded. Willow hadn't even seen her come up to her. She must have really been daydreaming.

Willow smirked at Caroline, "Now, why would I give you the satisfaction of telling you the new kid's name?"

Caroline narrowed her blue eyes at the shorter girl. She ignored Willow's jab at her nosy behaviour. "What was he doing talking to _you_ of all people?"

Willow adjusted her bag on her shoulder. "Who knows. Maybe he just gravitated towards me." Willow teased.

Caroline scoffed, "Yeah, whatever. The only people who gravitate towards you are druggies and losers."

Willow placed a hand over her heart, "Ouch! You wound me, Caroline!"

"He's never gonna be interested in you." Caroline sneered as she crossed her arms over chest.

That stung a little, but Willow covered it up quickly. "And you think he's ever gonna be interested in you?" Willow looked up and down with almost disgust.

"I'm better than you, Willow." Caroline stated. "In every possible way. And even if he doesn't go for me, he sure as hell isn't going to go for someone as trashy as you." She spat, before stomping away down the hallway.

Willow sighed and rested her head back against the wall. She and Caroline had been at odds since they were placed in a crib together. The two just couldn't get along. At most, they could barely tolerate eachother. They were polar opposites. Caroline was the neurotic, energetic, golden girl. And Willow was the temperamental, laid back, trouble maker. They were just not meant to get along.

Willow was okay with that. They never hung out, since Caroline was best friends with Bonnie and Elena, so Willow never really saw her. Apart from family get togethers and the occasional party or something.

Willow watched Caroline storm off with a smirk on her face, happy to have at least caused her some kind of irritation for talking to her, when her attention landed near the boys bathroom.

She saw Elena walk out of the bathroom. Stefan bumped into her. Elena tried to step around him. Stefan tried to do the same. Except they stepped in the same direction. They tried again, but they continued to step into eachothers' path. It was like something out of one of those cheesy chick flick movies.

Elena finally managed to step around Stefan, and Willow saw Stefan look back at her in a way that she herself was sure that she had worn on her face once for someone. And when Elena glanced back at him before disappearing behind a corner, Willow knew that she didn't stand a chance against Elena Gilbert.

Willow sighed in exasperation.

Because it was always Elena Gilbert.

* * *

Willow chatted with Stefan in biology class, despite the crushing reality that Stefan was interested in Elena. It didn't mean that she couldn't still try. She wasn't out of the game yet.

"I don't think I'd be able to handle moving that many times." Willow whispered to Stefan after he had told her that he had moved several times because of his military family, before coming to Mystic Falls.

Stefan shrugged his shoulders as he continued to face forward, to at least act like he was listening. They had already been told off once for talking, and he wanted to keep talking to Willow, but he wasn't in the mood to be scolded a second time by the crotchety old lady. "I got used to it after a while. And when my parents passed we stopped moving so much."

Willow frowned after hearing that his parents had died, "Oh, jeez. I'm sorry, about your parents. I didn't mean to bring up-"

"No, it's okay." He said to her immediately. He smiled kindly at her. "It was a while ago. I've had time to... adjust to it."

"Still, losing your parents, no matter how long ago it was... it's not something that just goes away."

Stefan looked at her with understanding green eyes, "You sound like someone who knows."

Willow swallowed, her throat feeling suddenly dry. _Fuck!_ She didn't mean to spill her life to him. She faced away from him, a hard look on her face.

Stefan nodded, understanding that she didn't want to talk about it. Besides, Mis. Evans had enough of their talking too.

"Miss. Anderson, Mr. Salvatore, this is the second time I've had to call you up on talking in my class. If I catch you nattering one last time, you will be separated. Understood?" She narrowed her beady eyes at them, waiting for a response from one of them.

Willow nodded, "Got it, Mis. Evans." Willow often behaved for the old lady. She really didn't see a point in getting the woman riled up.

Stefan smiled and nodded too, "Yes, sorry, m'am."

The teacher eyed them for a second before going on about cells. Willow really didn't care.

Willow glanced at her paper, which she had not written on at all, and picked up a pen. She scribbled down on the paper, '_Why don't you come to the Mystic Grill tonight?'_ She slid the paper over to Stefan discreetly.

Stefan glanced down at his hand when he felt a piece of paper push against it. He opened it and read it quickly and wrote out a quick reply, _'__Is it like a place where everyone hangs out?'_ He slid it back to Willow, while keeping his eyes on what Mis. Evans was trying to teach them.

_'Pretty much. I'll be waitressing, but chances are I'll end up doing nothing and start talking to you. So will you come?' _

Stefan let out a small laugh, one that was inaudible to their teacher.

_'Sure, I'll be there.' _

Willow grinned as she stopped writing to him, and pretended to listen to the lesson.


	4. The Crow

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**All outfits on my Polyvore account. Link is on my profile.**

* * *

My brain can think faster than I can,  
I'm not fast enough.  
Who is there to talk to  
that won't lock me up?  
At least God doesn't judge me by the thoughts that I find,  
the snakes I couldn't find,  
I don't want to find.

**\- 17 by Youth Lagoon**

* * *

Chapter Four - The Crow

After Biology with Stefan, Willow also had Geography with Stefan; as well as English and History (tragically, Caroline was in their English class and she wouldn't stop yapping to him). Willow was either really lucky to be getting all of these lessons with Stefan, or there was actually some good in the world and they decided that Willow deserved to have some happiness for a change.

Willow found Stefan surprisingly easy to talk to. They didn't delve into too many personal issues, deciding to not mention dead parents or anything family related again after earlier. Instead they talked about their interests, what they liked to do in their free time. It was nice. _He _was nice.

"You write a journal?" Willow asked with a snort of amusement.

Stefan raised his eyebrows, but was smiling at her, "Yeah, what's wrong with that?"

Willow shook her head, but kept the teasing smile on her face, "Nothing! Nothing at all." She peered at him from the corner of her eye with a smirk, "What do you write about? You got any secrets?"

Stefan blinked and looked away. Willow frowned. She saw him steel his jaw and swallow. "Doesn't everybody?"

Willow's smile disappeared at his tone of voice. Had she hit a nerve? "Um... I didn't mean to get all up in your business... sorry." She looked away, suddenly feeling embarrassed.

Stefan glanced at her and saw her looking anywhere but him. Stefan shook his head and stopped in his tracks, touching Willow's arm gently. Willow felt a small breath escape her lips as she stopped at his touch. Willow blinked her eyes a few times before turning to face him. Stefan made eye contact with her, keeping his hand on her arm, "I write in a journal because it helps me remember. I remember how I felt about something, what I did that day, who I did it with. I wanna remember everything." He explained to her in an almost faraway tone of voice.

Willow kept her brown eyes on his green ones, nodding her head in understanding. "I get it." Stefan raised an eyebrow at her. "No, I do. Really. Except for me, I wanna forget everything."

Stefan allowed his hand to slip down her fore arm and take her hand in his. "Some memories hurt more than others. But I think they help us to move forward." His thumb rubbed the back of her knuckles in comfort. "You won't be sad forever."

Willow didn't know what to say. She just stared at him as if he had grown a second head. Her throat felt tight and there was a stinging in her eyes. She would not let him see her cry; she would be so embarrassed if he saw burst into tears because he had been one of the handful of people who had actually shown they cared for her. And they had only known eachother for a few hours.

Looking away, she blinked her eyes to keep the tears at bay when the bell rung. She had never in her life actually been grateful for next lesson to start. Though reluctant, she pulled her hand from Stefan's. "C'mon, you don't wanna be late for Mr. Tanner. He'll insult you to death otherwise." She grinned, all traces of their emotional conversation gone from her face. Stefan didn't question it and nodded, following her into history class.

Students shuffled into the classroom, none of them eager to have Mr. Tanner for the next hour and a half. Mr. Tanner was already at his front desk, preparing for the lesson. Willow went to her seat, behind Bonnie. Bonnie really wasn't all that bad. She just never associated herself with Bonnie because of her friendship with Elena and Caroline. Still, Bonnie still looked down on Willow.

It took a few minutes for them to get in a new desk for Stefan, but once that was sorted, Mr. Tanner started on his boring lesson.

"Once our home state, Virginia, joined Confederacy in 1861, it created a tremendous amount of tension among the state." Mr. Tanner said to the class, but no-one was really listening.

Willow spotted Elena glancing back to Stefan, who was on the row to her right and two seats ahead of her. She frowned, but tried to ignore it. Willow tapped her pen on the desk, jiggling her leg. Her eyes narrowed as she saw Elena discreetly try and steal a glance at Stefan. Willow almost felt triumphant that Stefan wasn't looking back at her, but her glee was too soon because seconds later Stefan caught her staring and smiled at her.

Willow's pen dropped from her hand, landing on the floor. How was this possible? How was it that all Elena had to do was bat her eyelashes and boys would go running? It wasn't fair.

"Hey, Willow, you dropped this." She heard Matt say.

Willow tore her eyes away from Stefan and Elena and to the pen that Matt was offering her. She smiled at him, "Thanks." He nodded at her, and not to her surprise, began glaring at Stefan. Poor guy. He was still hung up on Elena. Right now, she knew how he felt. She wanted Stefan and he wanted Elena. And neither of the two that they had their eyes on wanted them.

Matt's gaze suddenly went from Stefan to Bonnie. Willow frowned and turned, seeing Bonnie hunched over. She wasn't writing, so she must be on her phone or something. Bonnie better not be adding to Elena's infatuation with Stefan.

Willow huffed when Elena looked at her phone.

* * *

Willow walked out of the school, not spotting her brother who was supposed to be picking her up. She sighed in annoyance and glanced at her phone. No-way was she just going to stand here and wait for him to turn up. Mind made up, she began to walk home. Besides, she had work to get to in an hour's time.

She pulled out her lighter and a cigarette. Flicking the lighter and bringing it to the cigarette between her lips. As soon as she lit it she breathed in, closing her eyes and then blowing out the smoke.

Willow felt tired all of a sudden. Nothing major had happened today to make her feel this way. Maybe it was the arrival of Stefan. She had put all of her attention onto him. Willow never realised how much it would drain her.

Willow felt her phone vibrate in her pocket. Switching the cigarette into her other hand, she pulled her phone out of her pocket, finding a message from both Jeremy and Raven. She decided to answer Jeremy first.

_Hey, how was ur first day? - J_

Willow smiled lightly and immediately started typing back; _Meh. There's a new kid though. - W_

It only took a few seconds for a reply. _I know. All of the girls are crushing on him bleurgh! - J_

Willow laughed.

_Are you? - J_

The message came straight after the last. She frowned, turning a corner. She really didn't want to talk about it, so she thought that a little white lie wouldn't kill him. _Lol no :') - W_

_Sure ;) - J_

Willow laughed and shook her head. _Whatever, dork. See ya at the grill later - W_

_Yeah, see ya, loser_ _\- J_

As soon as she finished with her phone, a squawk cam from above her. Willow raised an eyebrow and looked up and saw a crow sitting on a lamp post. Willow frowned; it was pretty damn big for a crow. It was pure black, and when the sunlight shone on it a number of different colours glimmered off of it's feathers. It's beady black eyes stared at her. Willow felt uncomfortable. It felt like the crow was looking right into her. Like it knew everything; all of her secrets, every little detail. Willow shuddered.

The crow let out a screech again, before flapping it's wings and hovering down to the sign that was below it signalling the name of the street. Willow gulped and then hissed, releasing the cigarette from her hand. She hadn't realised that she had let it burn down to the end. She blew on it immediately and flapped it in the air try and get rid of the pain. She almost forgot about the bird until it cawed.

Willow turned her attention back to the bird and glared. "What the hell do you want? Get lost!" The bird just cocked it's head to the side and then let out a sound like chortle. It was if the bird thought this whole situation was amusing. Willow scrunched up her brow, "Okay, I'm just gonna go." She immediately went in the direction of her apartment. Her pace was fast, not wanting to be anywhere near the creepy bird for a second longer. Just as she turned the corner again, she dared a glance and gasped. A man was standing in the same place that she just was. She couldn't see his face, but just the sight of him made her blood run cold.

Willow ran the rest of the way home.

* * *

"Where the hell were you, Willow?" Her brother demanded as soon as he had walked through the door. Willow was in the middle of getting ready for work, so she was currently in her bedroom.

"Huh?" She called back. Raven came barging into her room. Willow gasped and grabbed her blanket off her bed, covering her chest. She was wearing a bra but no top. "Dude! Knock!" She screeched.

Raven blanched and immediately backpedaled out of the room. Willow immediately threw on her work shirt that she wore for the Grill and stormed out of her room. She shoved his chest and glowered hatefully at him. "The hell is wrong with?! Just barging into my room!"

"I didn't know you were changing!"

"That's why they invented knocking, you fucking idiot!"

Raven pinched his brow, a headache forming. "Whatever, I'm sorry. But where were you earlier. I was supposed to pick you up."

Willow shrugged, "You weren't there, so I walked."

Raven sighed, "You sure you didn't just ditch the whole day?"

Willow narrowed her eyes at the accusation, "I didn't, surprisingly. Though the thought did cross my mind."

Raven raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Really? Well, Aunt Liz will be proud to hear that."

Willow huffed and rolled her eyes, "Jesus Christ, Ray! She doesn't need to know everything."

Raven shrugged, "She does when it comes to you." He gestured to the door. "Now, get your ass out of the door or you'll be late."

"Whatever."

* * *

The Mystic Grill was pretty full up tonight, which didn't really make Willow too happy. It meant she had to do more work. Willow just finished taking an order to a couple kids from school. She smiled at them forcefully, told them the recycled line of "Please enjoy your food." Forced out a smile again and then stomped off to go get someone else's order. As she was making her way back to the bar, about to collect the food that had been placed, she spotted Jeremy looking forlorn. And being the good friend that was, she ditched what she was supposed to be doing and went over to talk to him.

"Yo, what's got you pulling that kicked puppy face?" Willow asked as soon as she came up to him.

Jeremy peered down at her with sad, doey, brown eyes. "Vicki keeps ignoring me."

Willow sighed, "Well, Vicki's a bitch." Jeremy narrowed his eyes at her. Willow held her hands up, "Sorry. It's just... she's horrible to you and I don't like it." Willow looked behind her, seeing her flirting with Tyler right in front of Matt. Willow cringed as she saw Tyler staring at Vicki's behind as she walked back towards them.

Jeremy immediately made a beeline for her. Willow scoffed and rolled her eyes. She didn't want to listen to what they were saying, but she did hear Vicki saying that it was over between her and Jeremy and that wanted it to work with Tyler. Willow wrinkled her nose and snatched the food up, stomping over to the next people who had ordered food. She didn't say anything to these people, just went back to work.

"Hey! Willow, take our orders!" She heard Caroline demand.

Willow closed her eyes for a few seconds, reigning in her anger, before walking over to Caroline and Bonnie, who had joined Matt and Tyler (who had gone to the bathroom, thank God). She pulled out her writing pad and clicked her pen. "What do you want?"

Caroline scoffed, "What kind of attitude is that? I thought it was 'service with a smile.'"

Willow stared at her for a few seconds, before repeating, "What do you want?"

Caroline glowered at her. "Ugh, fine! Look, you were with Stefan practically all day. What do you know about him?"

Willow frowned in confusion, "Wait, you asked me to come over here to tell you about Stefan? You just said you wanted to order-" Willow shook her head, "No, no. I'm not telling you anything."

Caroline pouted, "You know I can report you for having a bad attitude."

Willow shrugged without a care, "Go ahead."

"Stop." Bonnie said, her gaze going between Caroline and Willow, before finally fixing on Willow, "Look, sorry she dragged you over here for that. Can I have a cheese burger, fries and a diet coke please?" Bonnie asked, offering her a smile.

Willow gave her a small smile back. "Yeah, sure. Caroline, you want anything or what?" She wrote down her order.

"I'll have a chicken salad, with a diet lemonade." She didn't look at Willow, who just stared at her for a few seconds, as if expecting something. Caroline eyed her with a raised eyebrow. "Go!" She demanded.

Willow let out a humourless laugh and then turned away.

And that's when she saw Stefan arrive.

With Elena.

Willow found her feet halt her, staring at him as Stefan smiled at Elena. Willow averted her gaze when he saw her. Swallowing deeply, she forced her legs forward.

Once again, it was always Elena Gilbert.

And Willow hated her for it.


	5. Friends?

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**All outfits on my Polyvore account. Link is on my profile. **

**A Willow playlist is also on my profile too. Go check it out.**

**Edit: Chapter has been proof read and mistakes have been fixed. A scene has also been added because I felt that the chapter was a bit dull. **

* * *

We're only young and naive still  
We require certain skills  
The mood it changes like the wind  
Hard to control when it begins

The bittersweet between my teeth  
Trying to find the in-between  
Fall back in love eventually

**\- Young Blood by The Naked and Famous**

* * *

Chapter Five - Friends?

As soon as Stefan and Elena had arrived in the Mystic Grill, Willow had made a beeline for the kitchen. She needed to put in Bonnie and Caroline's orders anyway. But mainly it was because of the two new arrivals. Willow thought that Stefan would come to the Mystic Grill because _she _asked. Not because _Elena_ did. It infuriated her.

Willow told the orders to the chef, and was hoping to linger in the kitchen just a little longer. Except the chef insisted that she had an order to give to someone; that someone being Matt. Willow sighed and took it, because really, what had Matt ever done to her? Oh yeah, he chose Elena as well! Willow bristled at the memory. She used to have a crush on Matt when she was around fourteen or fifteen, and had tried everything under the sun to get him to notice her in that way. But he never did. He only saw Elena. Just like Stefan. In the end, she started spending more time with Tyler, which was how they both became good friends originally and then started dating. But that fell apart when Tyler went off with Vicki.

Willow took Matt's order and stepped out of the kitchen, albeit reluctantly. She made a point not to look at the table that Stefan was sitting at, and immediately went in search of Matt. She spotted him at the pool table, and was about to make her way over, but Tyler was there with him. Willow stopped; her shoulders stiffened and her mouth fell into a straight line. She gulped and straightened herself out, before making her way towards them.

Matt spotted her first and smiled at her, "Hey, Will."

Willow nodded at him, "Hey. Here's your order."

Tyler stared at her, "Hey, Willow."

Willow narrowed her eyes at Tyler, "Don't talk to me."

Tyler scoffed and leaned against the pool table, "C'mon, Will! There's no need to be like that." His tone was mocking, and it made Willow's blood boil.

Willow laughed humourlessly, "Actually, yeah there is. You're a complete asshole, and that's reason enough."

"Woah!" He placed a hand over his heart in fake offence, "Never been called that before."

Matt pushed Tyler on the shoulder slightly, "Ty, knock it off."

Willow and Tyler both ignored him, "Don't you think you should be questioning why everyone thinks you're an asshole? Because if I were being called that everyday, I would be."

Tyler squared his shoulders and glowered down at her, "Well, what does that make you. Everyone calls you a bitch. A druggie, trash, nobody. A crazy person. Because everybody's thinking it. Maybe you should be questioning that, huh?"

"Ty!" Matt exclaimed, "The hell, man?! Stop!"

Willow simply stared at Tyler. People did call her those things, and she knew that's what they already thought of her. But that was okay, because she could deal with a bunch of people she couldn't care less for thinking that she was a druggie. But Tyler... Tyler actually thinking that she was trash and a nobody... a crazy person. It stung, more than she thought that it would.

"I'm not crazy." Willow mumbled, almost inaudible for either Matt or Tyler to hear. She was looking down at her feet as she said it.

Suddenly, Willow's hard eyes met Tyler's as she bit out in an icy cold voice, "Don't even bother coming near me ever again, Lockwood. I don't wanna see your fucking face anymore." Tyler actually had the audacity to look like her regretted what he said. Willow gave him her middle finger, before stomping off towards the exit of the restaurant.

Willow took a deep breath as soon as she stepped out into the cold air. She breathed in, allowing the bitter air to sting her lungs and throat. Closing her eyes for a second, she tried to forget about what Tyler had said to her. Shaking her head, she pulled a pack of cigarettes and her lighter from her apron with shaky hands. She lit it immediately, quickly breathing in the smoke and the nicotine, allowing it to fill senses before blowing all the smoke out through her mouth. Willow sighed in exasperation and glanced up at the dark night sky.

_I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy. I'm not crazy. _Those words went on and on like a mantra inside her head. Her hands were still trembling.

It was quiet for a good few seconds, until the sound of the restaurant door opening. Willow glanced to her right to see who was coming out, praying to every deity that there could be that it wasn't Tyler. But it wasn't Tyler. It was Stefan. Willow didn't know if she should feel relieved or worried about him being there.

"Willow? Are you okay?" Stefan asked her, walking up to her.

Willow shrugged, "Never better. Why wouldn't I be?"

Stefan glanced back to Mystic Grill, "I kind of overheard you and Tyler earlier."

Willow scoffed, flicking some ash off of her cigarette, "That's nothing new. Don't worry about it." She brought the cigarette back to her lips.

"That doesn't matter." Stefan told her. "He shouldn't be talking to you that way." He told her seriously.

Willow raised an eyebrow and glanced at him, "Why does it matter to you then?"

Stefan was silent for a second and then he leaned against the wall beside her. "Because it's not fair for anyone to really be talked to that way." Willow nodded her head, though she thought that it would be because he cared just about her. But he continued. "And because you were the first person who talked to me today and didn't talk to me like I was some kind of celebrity." He smiled down at her, his green eyes softening. "Because you're my first friend here. And that means something to me."

Willow didn't know what to say. Really, she was at a loss for words. No-one, bar Jeremy had ever really called her their friend. That fact was slightly depressing, but it touched her deeply that Stefan considered her his first friend in this crappy little town.

Willow dropped the cigarette to the floor and stood on it. She smiled up at Stefan, one side of her mouth higher than the other as she said in a seemingly teasing tone, "We're friends?"

Stefan grinned, "Oh, yeah. We're both kind of loners. Gotta stick together."

Willow's smile brightened and she punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Nothing like two loners being lonely together."

Stefan laughed. And Willow forgot all about her anger towards Tyler and her hatefulness towards Elena.

* * *

Willow was beyond grateful when work finally ended. She couldn't wait to get into her bed, and just sleep.

As soon as she stepped out of the now quiet restaurant, she lit a cigarette. Breathing in the smoke and sighing, making her way down the street that was only being lit up by the street lights.

As Willow continued on her journey home, a sense of someone following her came over her. Her back stiffened and the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Willow gulped, and threw her cigarette to the ground. It was nowhere near finished, but this feeling of being stalked would not leaver her, and she wanted to get home as soon as possible.

A loud squawk came from above her, causing her to gasp and snap her head upwards. A crow stared down at her with beady eyes from on top of a street light, cocking it's head to the side, as if it were examining her. Willow swallowed, keeping her eyes on the odd bird. Was that the bird from before? It couldn't be. Why would a bird follow her around? And didn't birds sleep at night?

Taking a deep breath, she took a step forward, keeping her eyes on the crow. Willow eventually tore her eyes away from the black bird, wanting to get home all the more now. But she gasped in shock, her hand flying to her chest where her heart hammered away at the fright in front of her. A man was standing before her.

"Oh, my God!" Willow exclaimed, stumbling backwards with her heart still over her chest. "What the hell, man?"

"Sorry," The man smirked. "Didn't mean to scare you."

Willow eyed him warily, "Suuuree..." When her heart calmed down, she managed to get a good look at him. He was relatively tall, at least eight or nine inches taller than her causing her to have to tilt her head slightly to look at him. His hair was jet black and messy, some of it falling in front of his ice blue eyes. He was smirking down at her, proving to her that he did not care if he scared her or not. His clothing was entirely black; black boots, lack jeans, black shirt, black leather jacket. Clearly, he loved black.

Willow sighed and shifted on her feet, "What do you want?" She demanded.

His eyes seemed to sparkle with mischief, "That's the first thing you say to someone?"

Willow crossed her arms over chest and narrowed her eyes at him, "You're a stranger and we're standing in a street in the dark, with no-one around. So yeah, that is the first thing I say to someone."

The man actually laughed at her, as if he found what she just said was the funniest thing he had ever heard. "I'm Damon. No longer a stranger." He told her with that same stupid smirk on his face.

"Good to know. But that doesn't change anything." She made to walk around him, but he stepped in front of her. Willow began to worry; this man could be a complete sicko and do something horrible to her. She straightened out, prepared to fight back if he tried anything.

"You gonna tell me your name, Pigeon."

Willow cringed at what he had just called her, "Don't call me that. And you don't get to know my name." Again, she made to step around him. But this time he didn't step in front of her, but grabbed her arm. Panic set in, and Willow immediately began to struggle. "Let go of me!"

Willow tried desperately to pull her arm out of his grip, but it was no use. It was like his grip was made of steel. There was just no way to get him to release her. Willow flinched when Damon grabbed her chin and turned her face towards him. She made to scream, but Damon's eyes suddenly became captivating. His pupils dilated and he kept his gaze focused solely on her own brown eyes. "You're not gonna scream." He told her in a calm yet commanding voice.

Willow wanted, so badly. She wanted to scream to the heavens that this man was harassing her. But for some reason, she didn't. It was like a fog had befallen her mind, and she couldn't think clearly. The only thing she knew for sure is that she was not going to scream, no matter how much she wanted to.

"Good." Damon grinned. He kept his hand on her chin, but loosened up on his tight grip and instead started stroking her cheek. "Now, let's try this again. What's your name?"

Willow tried desperately to fight it, tried to think clearly on her own and not say anything to this jerk. But the words spilled out of her mouth without her control. "Willow Anderson." She told him in a monotone voice.

"Hmm." Damon tilted his head to the side, examining her. "You're buddies with Stefan Salvatore, right?"

"Yes." She had no choice. Everything he asked, she answered.

Damon smirked down at her almost wickedly, "Great. Then you and I are gonna have lots of fun." He winked at her. Willow's heart beat rose at that. Damon chuckled, as if he heard her galloping heart beat and knew why she was so panicked. "Oh, don't worry. Like I said; it'll be fun." Damon released her arm, and placed his hand on her other cheek. His eyes stared at her intently, dilating again. "I want you to forget we had this conversation and that you met me. Don't need my brother knowing I'm here just yet, okay?"

"Okay." She answered dully.

Damon smiled down at her, "See you around, Willow." He winked at her again.

As soon as Damon released her and she blinked her eyes, he was gone. Willow frowned and looked around. What was she doing standing in the middle of the sidewalk? Rolling her eyes and shaking her head, she carried on her journey home, blissfully unaware that the man that she had just spoken to was watching her the whole time.

* * *

"The Battle of Willow Creek took place right a the end of the war in our very own Mystic Falls." Mr. Tanner told his students, though none of them were paying attention. "How many casualties resulted in this battle?" He glanced around the class, wanting to pick on anyone who looked like they weren't paying attention. "Miss. Bennett."

Bonnie blinked and stopped doodling in her notebook. She glanced around for a second, before her eyes landed back on Mr. Tanner. "Um... a lot?" Students laughed at her answer. She smiled sweetly. "I'm not sure, like a whole lot."

"Cute becomes dumb in an instant, Miss. Bennett." His gaze landed on Matt. "Mr. Donovan, would you like to take this opportunity to overcome your embedded jock stereotype?"

Matt smirked and shook his head, "It's okay, Mr. Tanner, I'm cool with it." Again, students laughed.

His eyes cast around the classroom again. His eyes landed on his worst student, who was beside Matt. He narrowed his eyes and cleared his throat. "Miss. Anderson," He called to get her attention.

"Huh?" Willow mumbled. More students chuckled

"Do you happen to know how many casualties there were at the Battle of Willow Creek?" He asked her, crossing his arms over his chest.

Willow made a disgruntled sound, "You're really asking me? I lose an IQ point everytime I enter this class." She smirked up at him, spinning her pen between her fingers. Students erupted into laughter again. It seemed everyone was on their form today in pissing Tanner off.

Mr. Tanner huffed and scowled at her, "We've spoken about your attitude, Willow. This is a warning to you right now: enough or you're out of the class." Willow held her hand up in surrender. Mr. Tanner sighed, looking for a student that might actually know the answer. "Elena? Surely you can enlighten us on about one of the town's most significantly historical events."

Elena shook her head, "I'm... I-I don't know." She stuttered, and Willow wanted to roll her eyes at her impish behaviour.

But it seemed that Tanner wasn't having any of it. "I was willing to be lenient last year for obvious reasons, Elena. But the personal excuses ended with summer break."

Willow's mouth fell open at what the stupid history teacher had just said. How could he say such an insensitive thing? Losing your parents was not something anybody got over in the span of a few months, and they certainly were not just 'personal excuses'. For the first time in a long time, Willow felt bad for Elena and was actually about to speak up for her, but someone else spoke first.

"There were 346 casualties." Stefan answered for him. "Unless you're counting local civilians."

Mr. Tanner eyed him for a second before nodding his head. "That's correct. Mr...?"

"Salvatore."

"Salvatore? Any relation to the original settlers here at Mystic Falls?"

Stefan hesitated in his answer, but nodded his head, "Distant." He answered shortly.

"Well, very good." Mr. Tanner praised. "Except, of course, there were no civilian casualties in this battle."

Willow scowled at his know-it-all attitude. What she wouldn't give to be able to punch this guy in the face.

"Actually, there were 27. Confederate soldiers fired on a church, believing it to be housing weapons. They were wrong. It was a night of great loss." Stefan told him surely and in a serious tone. Mr. Tanner looked a little embarrassed. "The founders' archives are stored in civil hall if you'd like to brush up on your facts, Mr. Tanner."

Willow let out a breathy laugh, shocked by his answers to the history teacher. Willow reached over and nudged Stefan on the arm, who glanced behind him at who had hit him. Willow grinned at him, "You're right. We are so friends now."


	6. Downhill

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**All outfits on my Polyvore account; link is on my profile. A Willow playlist is also on my profile; go check it out.**

_**TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF SELF-HARM AS WELL AS ATTEMPTED RAPE (IF THIS AFFECTS YOU IN ANYWAY, PLEASE STOP READING NOW. YOUR WELL-BEING IS FAR MORE IMPORTANT TO ME THAN GETTING A FEW VIEWS ON A STORY).**_

* * *

I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be  
Fine when you want me  
Yeah, for the last time

I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be  
Fine when I'm free  
Yeah, for the last time

**\- Olly Olly Oxen Free by Gregory and the Hawk**

* * *

Chapter Six - Downhill

Willow was grateful that her boss at the Mystic Grill had actually agreed to giving her the night off. Usually, he was pretty hard going and wouldn't let anyone take any time off, so Willow was surprised when he said that she didn't have to work tonight and that he had cover.

So because of this, Willow practically had a skip in her step as she entered her home. She was excited for the party, ready to have some time to just relax and have some fun. Plus, if Stefan was going maybe she'd finally be able to spend some time with him.

Sadly, her good mood didn't last. As soon as she entered into her small apartment her face dropped. As standing with her back towards her was her Aunt Liz, who was in the middle of a conversation with Raven. Willow slammed the door shut, alerting her presence to the sheriff and her brother. They bother turned around, Aunt Liz with her arms crossed over her chest and Raven leaning against the counter in the kitchen.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Willow demanded as she flung her bag onto the floor.

Liz rolled her eyes, "It's good to see you too, Willow."

Willow eyed her for a second, waiting for her to explain her presence in their apartment. When Liz didn't answer, Willow turned her gaze to Raven. "Seriously, what the hell is she doing here?"

Raven sighed, "She just came by for a visit." He told her.

Willow scoffed, "Yeah, right. Came to check up on me, didn't you?" She directed the question at her Aunt, but didn't wait for an answer. "Well, don't worry, because I haven't vandalised anything, or skipped school or upset Caroline." She frowned and tilted head up as if she was thinking. "Actually, scratch that last one. It's the only thing that gets me through the day."

Liz sighed and took a step towards her niece, "I just worry about you." She looked at Raven. "The both of you." She shifted her position so that she could look at the both of them while she spoke. "You both live in this apartment, and half the time one of you isn't home, leaving one of you alone." Liz finally turned her gaze back to Willow. "I worry. I worry about my niece and nephew, okay? Is that alright with you?"

Willow glowered at her, "No." She spat.

Liz squared her shoulders and kept her firm eyes on Willow. She was used to Willow's harsh attitude. "Well, I'm very sorry, young lady, but I'm gonna do it anyway. You know why? Because I care."

"Well, don't." Willow smirked sardonically at her aunt.

"Alright, enough, Willow." Raven demanded. "I am seriously sick of this attitude you've got where you push people away."

"Maybe take the hint then!" Willow exploded. "Just leave me alone! Stop caring about me!"

"We can't!" Raven yelled, his voice breaking slightly. "We can't stop caring about you, you idiot."

Willow shook her head, chewing her bottom lip, "Fine. Then stop asking me what I've been doing, or where I've been, or if I'm okay. Because I can't take the coddling." Willow's hard gaze went to Liz. "And maybe you should focus more on the relationship you have with your own daughter. I hear that's falling apart."

"Enough!" Raven roared. Willow didn't react to the tone of his voice, but narrowed her eyes at her aunt who looked forlorn. She felt a little guilty for bringing her struggling relationship with her daughter, but she really just wanted her to leave.

Liz swallowed deeply and cleared her throat. "I'm sure Caroline is home now." Liz said and made her way to the door. Raven tried to stop her, but she held her hand up to him. Just as she was about to leave she turned back to Willow, who had her back to her. "Your mother wouldn't want you to be this way." She whispered, not just speaking about her attitude towards her. Willow squeezed her eyes shut, feeling the sudden burn in her eyes and didn't turn around until she heard the door close.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Raven demanded after a few seconds of silence. "How can you treat her that way?"

Willow brought her gaze up to the ceiling to try and stop the tears from falling. "I'm gonna go get ready." She said in a hoarse voice, ignoring his question.

"Willow-" Willow stormed into her bedroom and slammed the door shut before he could finish what he was going to say. Willow closed her eyes, allowing the tears to fall freely as she leaned against the door. Willow would like to say she knew why she was so cruel to her family, but the truth was that she didn't. Willow just felt that they didn't need to waste their time worrying about her, and so was horrible to them in order to get them to stay away from her and get on with their own lives. Maybe if Raven didn't spend half his time worrying about her he would have a girlfriend right now, or at least be going out more with his friends.

Ever since her mother's death Willow's mental and emotional state had been gradually getting worse and worse. Her negative view of herself didn't help matters at all.

Willow sniffled and pulled her sleeve up. She gazed hatefully down to her scarred wrists and gently grazed her fingers over them. She hadn't harmed herself in a long time and she was actually proud of herself. But now... all because of her acting like such an idiot to the people that she loved the most the urge was back. Willow narrowed her eyes, swallowing back tears.

What was wrong with her? Why was she such a horrible person? Liz was right; her mother wouldn't want her this way. In fact, Willow was pretty sure that her mother would be so disappointed in her. If she could see her now she would probably tell her that she was a pathetic excuse for a daughter.

As her thoughts continued to spiral downward, her phone started ringing. Willow cringed at the sound and pulled it out of her pocket, planning on rejecting it. Until she saw who it was.

Jeremy.

She sighed, almost in relief that it was him. She cleared her throat before answering. "Hey, Jer. What's up?"

_"Hey, Will. You able to go to the party tonight?"_

"Yeah, yeah. I can go." Willow tried to clear her voice again because she could hear it cracking slightly. It was silent on his end for a second. Willow chewed her lip. "So, was that all, or...?"

_"Um... yeah."_ Jeremy answered finally. Before he hung up though he asked, _"Willow, is everything okay?"_

Willow gulped. "Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

_"You sound like you've been crying." _He told her. _"Plus, you're not giving me any stupid, snarky insult, so what's up?"_

Willow wanted to be mad at him for being able to figure all of that out by just speaking to her over the phone. But it actually made her smile to know that he knew her so well that he could even tell when she was upset over the phone.

"Just me being my usual horrible self."

_"You're not a horrible person, Will."_

"Yes, I am, Jer. I know it, my brother knows it, my aunt and cousin know it. Hell, even your sister knows it."

Jeremy sighed, _"That's because they don't know you."_

Willow frowned, "Jeremy, don't try and justify me."

_"It's true though. You're a good person. And I know you can be harsh and mean sometimes, but I actually love that about you. And you're my best friend. So go ahead and be bitch all you want, but I don't care."_

Willow actually laughed, "Oh, so I'm a bitch as well?"

_"Duh." _Jeremy said, though there was mirth in his voice.

Willow laughed again, feeling much better. "Thanks, Jer. I can always count on you."

_"Anytime. And right back at you." _He took a deep breath. _"So, will I see you there tonight?"_

"Definitely. I'll text you when I'm there."

_"Alright. See you." _Just as Willow was about to hang up, Jeremy spoke again, _"Willow, you don't have to fight everything on your own. You've been there for me through all of my... stuff. I'm here for you too."_

Willow smiled, "I know." The two hung up at the same time.

Willow sighed and rested her head against the door, letting out a breath. She looked down at her wrists and pulled down the sleeves, and went to her closet to pick out an outfit for the party.

* * *

Willow arrived at the party at the falls three hours later. Since it was still winter it had gotten dark quickly, and the air was bitter. But Willow didn't bother wearing a jacket or coat to cover her arms. Instead she wore a dark shirt with her signature denim jacket, with dark skinny jeans that were ripped and her sneakers.

Willow glanced around, seeing a lot of people but not finding anyone she really bothered with. She had told Jeremy that she was here, so she thought that he would be hanging around waiting for her somewhere. As she continued searching the crowd of teens downing shots and kissing some random person from school, she spotted Stefan. He was standing a few feet away, seeming like he was searching for someone. Probably Elena. Willow scowled at that, but took a deep breath and was about to make her way over to him, but Caroline beat her to the punch.

Willow sighed dejectedly as she watched Caroline drag Stefan away to god knows where. Willow shoved her hands into her jacket pocket and pulled out her lighter and cigarettes, pulling one out and putting it between her lips. Willow flicked the lighter and used her other hand to cover the little flame from the wind and brought it to the cigarette. As soon as it was lit she put the lighter back in her pocket and took a deep breath, breathing in the smoke and nicotine.

Willow decided to not be disappointed in that Stefan wasn't taking any notice in her tonight, because honestly, what was the point in that? She wanted to have fun tonight, no matter what.

"Hey! There you are!" Jeremy called as he walked up to her, carrying two beer bottles.

Willow grinned at him, taking the cigarette out of her mouth to greet him, "Here I am." Jeremy offered her a beer bottle. "Thanks." She immediately took a gulp of it. "Ah, I never realised how much I missed the stale taste of beer."

Jeremy chuckled, "The last time you drunk beer was two days before we went back to school. Actually, that was the last time you got drunk."

Willow nodded, "Yep. And tonight I plan on getting drunk too." She clinked her bottle with his and he laughed. "C'mon."

The two started walking further into the party, Willow alternating between smoking her cigarette and drinking her beer. The two ended up meeting up with a few people who sometimes offered them drugs.

"Yo, Willow! My fave girl!" A boy, all gangly and pale with dyed jet black hair.

Willow forced out a smile, "Hey, Pete." Willow didn't really mind him, but he could be a bit annoying. He clung to her sometimes and followed her around like a lost puppy. She didn't know why. She usually just hung around him because he almost always had some weed on him.

Pete grinned at her, seeming to know what she was thinking, "Yeah, I know what you're after." He turned his gaze to Jeremy and scowled at him. "Your boy toy want some too?"

Willow narrowed her eyes at what she had called Jeremy. Pete seemed to always assume that she and Jeremy were a thing even though she told him constantly that they weren't. "Yeah, we want some. So just cough it up."

Pete held his hands up as if he were surrendering and chuckled almost nervously, "Alright, alright, sweetheart." He took a bag out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. "On the house." He winked at her and Willow cringed.

"Whatever. C'mon, Jer." Jeremy obeyed and followed her away from the boy.

"Jeez, what a creep." Jeremy scrunched up his nose as he glanced back at Pete.

Willow scoffed as she flicked her cigarette away. "Tell me about it. He follows me around sometimes. Freaks me out."

"That's because he's got a thing for you."

"Pfft." Willow scoffed. "Yeah, right. And even if he did, I would never think about going out with him."

"Aww." Jeremy pouted playfully. "Poor Pete. Rejected and he doesn't even know it."

Willow laughed, "If I rejected him to his face he'd go home crying to his mommy."

"Yeah, I can see it now." Jeremy smiled as he took a swig of his beer. "You'd probably say something that'd make him wet his pants."

"Oh, no I wouldn't go that far." She smirked. "Just scare him enough to make him have to rush to the bathroom."

They laughed together for a second, managing to forget about all their problems for a while in eachother. But that didn't last long, as Jeremy stopped laughing once he caught something over Willow's shoulder.

Willow frowned, "What is it?" She looked behind her and saw Tyler leading Vicki into the woods. Willow swallowed and glared at their backs as they walked into the darkness of the woods. Willow sighed and rested her head against Jeremy's shoulder and closed her eyes, and Jeremy rested his cheek against her head. The both of them were heartbroken, but they were heartbroken together.

* * *

Willow was alone right now. Jeremy had said he needed to take a leak, but she had a feeling that he was going to check up on Vicki. Willow would've gone after him, but getting high sometimes altered her decision making.

Right now, she was sitting on a log and drinking her fifth beer. She was starting to feel the buzz from the alcohol and drugs. She was feeling quite calm right now, but often it was one little thing that could flip that completely. She was out of it until someone almost tripped over her legs. "What the hell?!" He spat. Willow looked up and saw that it was Tyler.

She narrowed her eyes and tilted her head up at him, "Oops. Sorry." She muttered, turning back to her drink.

Tyler watched her for a second before making the observation, "You're drunk and high. Christ, Willow."

"Oh, my god! Who're you to judge?" She gestured towards him clumsily. "You go around fucking other girls when you're with someone else. You don't see me bringing it up everytime I see you and Vicki together, do you?"

Tyler let out a humourless laugh. "Still hung up on that, huh?"

Willow scoffed, "Weirdly enough, yeah I am. Because you ripped my heart out and stamped on it." She smirked at him nastily. She glanced around. "So where is your fuck buddy? Ditched her for another girl too? Or did she realise she could do better than you?"

"You're gonna shut your mouth, Anderson!" Tyler growled, pointing a finger at her.

Willow laughed, "Or what? What are you gonna do to me?"

If Willow wasn't so drunk and out of it maybe she would've reacted faster, because she didn't even see Tyler reach out and grab her wrist and drag her off the opposite way that he had came from. Tyler dragged her to a secluded area of the party, where it was dark and no-one could see them. Before Willow could even question what he was doing, his lips were on her's.

Willow gasped and her eyes widened. A part of her brain that was slightly sober told her that this was wrong and that she didn't want this. But it was overthrown by the hazy and drunk part of her brain that remembered how much she loved Tyler and how much she wanted him back. So she found herself kissing him back. Willow reached both of her hands around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist and pulled her right up against him. Willow opened her mouth when she felt Tyler's tongue brush against her mouth, allowing their tongues to tangle together. Willow gasped when Tyler pulled her further into the darkness and pushed her up against a tree. They kissed heatedly for a few more seconds, before they both needed to breathe and pulled away from one another. Tyler moved his lips from her own, down to her jaw and to her neck. Willow sighed and leaned her head back, the bark of the tree digging into her scalp but she didn't care. Willow had wanted to be kissing Tyler like this again for ages.

But she didn't want to sleep with him. Not in the woods, anyway. And despite being drunk, her brain seemed to understand that this was wrong, especially when she felt Tyler move his hands to the waist band of her jeans. Willow turned her head away from his kisses and tried to push him away, "Tyler, no. I don't wanna do this here."

"Oh, jeez, you sound just like Vicki." He mumbled against her neck.

Willow froze and her face turned to thunder. She pushed his face away from her neck and glared with hatred and betrayal at him. "With Vicki?! You mean that you already tried to fuck her against a tree! Oh my fucking god!" Willow cried out and placed her head in her hands.

Tyler rolled his eyes, "Oh, c'mon, Willow. It'll be fun."

Willow shoved him away. "Fun?! What the hell is wrong with you?" She shook her head. "No, I don't wanna do this. Let me go." Willow pushed him away again, and made to run off, but Tyler grabbed her arm.

"Where'd you think you're going?" He breathed in her ear once he had pulled her back against him.

"Stop it, Tyler!" Willow hissed, becoming fearful that he would do something that he would regret. "You're drunk and being stupid. Just let me go."

"No!" Tyler growled. "I am not getting rejected twice in one night." He shoved her roughly against the tree.

Willow grunted in pain, "Ow! Tyler, you're hurting me!" Tyler moved his hands to her jeans again and Willow begun to panic. "Tyler, please!" She cried, her breathing getting heavy with fear.

"What the hell is going on here?" A voice demanded from their right. Before Willow could even see who it was, Tyler was pulled off her. Willow gasped and fell on the ground against the tree. Willow could hear yelling and some form of scuffle going on, but the world sounded like she was under water. Her chest heaved up and down as she fell into a panic attack.

"Willow..." She heard the person who had saved her call her name. Willow looked up to the person who was kneeling in front of her, finding it to be Stefan. he was looking her over for any injuries. Willow's breath continued to come out heavily, as she felt like she couldn't breathe. "Hey, Willow, it's okay. You're gonna be okay." Stefan's voice was gentle and calm as he placed a tentative hand on her shoulder. But Willow's breath wouldn't slow down. Seeing that she was okay with him touching her, he reached out and took one of her trembling hands. "Willow, I need you to breathe with me, okay?" Stefan said to her slowly. He kept his green eyes on her dark brown eyes. Stefan took a deep breath in, waiting for Willow to do the same. Willow copied him and did the same as him when he breathed out. They did this together for a few minutes until Willow felt like she wasn't going to pass out.

Stefan squeezed her hand, "That's it. There we go."

Willow swallowed and wiped her cheeks, feeling dampness. She was crying and she didn't even realise it. Willow took a few more steadying breaths before attempting to stand up. Her legs were shaking so Stefan kept a hold of her hand as well as taking her arm to help steady her.

"It sounds like a dumb question, but are you alright?"

Willow swallowed again, "Yeah." She croaked out. She cringed at the sound of her voice. "Or I will be."

"I'm gonna take you home." He said to her, still holding her hand.

Willow shook her head and sniffled, "No, it's okay."

"No, it isn't." Stefan told her sternly. "I wanna make sure you get home safely and that you're okay." He smiled down at her. "Plus, I never really got to speak to you tonight."

Willow let a weak smile come across her lips. She felt tears come to her eyes again and tried to hide them. "I don't even know why I'm crying."

Stefan frowned at her with concern and suddenly pulled her to his chest for a hug. Willow squeezed her eyes shut and wrapped her arms around him. She wasn't much of a hugger normally but right now, she needed it. She was so thankful that someone like Stefan was here now. Someone who actually cared about her.

"It's okay to cry. There's nothing wrong with it." He told her gently.

Willow sniffled, "I'm soaking your shirt."

Stefan chuckled lightly, "It's fine. Trust me." He looked down to her. "C'mon, let's get you home."

Willow nodded and wiped her hand under nose and breathed in. Stefan kept an arm draped around her as he lead her out of the woods and back towards the party. Stefan was leading Willow away from the party. He wasn't going to bother telling Elena good bye, as he felt that getting Willow home right now was far more important. But when the two were about to leave, they heard screaming.

"Somebody help!" Elena screamed as she and Jeremy exited the woods, Jeremy carrying an unconscious Vicki in his arms. Matt rushed over to his sister, demanding that someone call an ambulance. Willow and Stefan watched in horror and curiosity. Stefan more worried about his secret being revealed than anything else.

"Oh, my god." Willow breathed when she saw Vicki's bloody neck.

Stefan swallowed and moved his attention back to her, "We should get you home." He said to her in a hard voice.

Willow frowned, "But Vicki... she's..." Willow could already hear the sound of an ambulance arriving.

"I really think I should get you home." He told her nervously, glancing back at Vicki everynow and then.

Willow gaze him a confused look. "Um... okay. Yeah. I guess there's nothing we can do."

Stefan nodded and took her hand, leading her away from the crowd as well as from the bleeding girl. Elena glanced up that second to catch Stefan leading Willow away by her hand and she frowned.


	7. Forget

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Polyvore, playlist and Tumblr all on my profile.**

_**TRIGGER WARNING: SELF-HARM**_

* * *

Band-aids don't fix bullet holes  
You say sorry just for show  
If you live like that you live with ghosts  
If you love like that blood runs cold

**\- Bad Blood by Taylor Swift**

* * *

Chapter Seven - Forget

Brown eyes stared blankly up at the ceiling of Willow's bedroom.

It was still dark in her room, though very slowly it was becoming lighter outside.

Willow sighed and closed her eyes, turning her body so that she was lying on her side. Her eyes moved to her alarm clock, staring at the bright red numbers. 5:00AM. She frowned, reaching over to her alarm clock and turning it away from her.

Willow hadn't gotten much sleep over the last few days. Disturbing images of what Tyler almost did to her as well as what happened to Vicki swirled around her head. Every time she found herself drifting off to sleep, a horrific image of a bleeding Vicki would appear, like something from a horror movie. It caused her to jolt up in bed in surprise, stopping her from going back to sleep with those terrible images in her head. Then there were the Tyler visions; ones where Stefan hadn't managed to get there on time and save her. She'd end up crying with those ones without even realising it.

Willow sat up slowly, realising that sleep was pointless. Willow ran her fingers through her hair and let out an exhausted sigh. Just sitting up felt like a chore.

Her movements were sluggish as she moved out of her bed, almost tripping on her bed sheets as she did.

Willow went to her phone, pulling it out of the plug and squinting at the bright screen. She flicked through the messages that she had gotten over the past few days; a few from Jeremy. All mainly about Vicki. He was freaking out about her, fearing the worst. Willow tried to reassure him, but she didn't think that it did much.

She looked through the other messages; some from Aunt Liz on the night that Vicki was attacked. Willow was tempted to tell her about Tyler, but in the end she decided against it. She probably wouldn't believe her.

And the last few were from Stefan. They had exchanged numbers on the journey to her apartment; he insisted she give him her number so that he could make sure she was okay, and Willow was a little touched by that. The day after the party, Stefan had texted her; asked her if she was okay, if she needed anything. Willow eventually said that she wanted to get out of her apartment and the two spent the day together. They talked about trivial things, learnt random facts about one another, and even went to see 'Paranormal Activity', which Willow had been dying to see since she heard about it.

Willow smiled; it was a fun day and it really helped in getting her mind off of everything. Willow didn't bother Stefan for the next few days. Besides, if Elena's Facebook status was anything to go by then Stefan spent the whole day with her.

Willow eventually locked her phone and was about to put it away, when she caught her reflection in it. She had been ignoring her reflection for days, not wanting to see if there was any evidence of what Tyler tried to do to her. Willow narrowed her eyes when she caught a mark on her neck. Pulling her hair back to get a better look at it, she saw that it was a love bite, given to her by Tyler. Willow suddenly felt like she wanted to be sick. She rubbed at it desperately, wanting to somehow just be her mind playing tricks on her. She scratched and rubbed at the skin of her neck.

Willow's body suddenly slumped to the floor, and she stopped rubbing at her neck. She could feel a scream about to break through her lips, but she quickly placed her hands over mouth, muffling the cry.

The absolute disgust she felt for herself was unbelievable. She felt like she wanted to rip off her own skin.

Willow blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to see passed the tears forming, and looked down to her arms. She spotted a bruise in the shape of a hand print. Willow squeezed her eyes shut and turned away from it. A torrent of fast moving images flooded her mind; Tyler roughly grabbing her arm. Tyler forcing her against the tree. Tyler grabbing her hips with so much force that she was sure she had bruised.

She had never felt this way about Tyler. Willow always loved Tyler, no matter what. Even when he cheated on her with Vicki, Willow still couldn't extinguish the love she felt for him. But now... just thinking about him made her flinch.

Willow let out a shuddering breath, and turned to her vest that was hung over the bed post of her bed, an idea in her head.

Willow swallowed back tears and crawled over to it, rummaging through the pockets until she found her lighter and cigarettes. She sighed in relief when she found them.

With shaky hands, Willow pulled out a cigarette and lit it. She took a breath of the smoke first, closing her eyes before blowing the smoke out of her mouth. Willow blinked away the tears, grabbing the tip of the cigarette and facing the burning end down wards. Willow lifted her left hand up and turned it so that her wrist was facing her. Without even hesitating, Willow pressed the burnt end onto the skin of her wrist. It stung greatly, but Willow didn't react. She simply stared with a stony gaze as she twisted it. Smoke twisted around her face, and she simply breathed it in.

Eventually Willow pulled it back. She stared at the burnt round circle at the centre of her wrist, glowering at it. Anger and hatred bubbled within her, and this time she pushed the cigarette onto her skin with more force. She hated Tyler Lockwood, she hated the universe for continuously allowing bad things to happen to her, and she hated herself.

But most of all, she just wanted to forget it ever happened. Forget Tyler ever touched her. To just forget it all.

* * *

Stefan was worried when Willow didn't make an appearance in Biology class.

The teacher didn't bother questioning where she was, but Stefan knew why she was most likely not in school. He tried to get her mind off of what had happened by just doing things with her. He wanted to create friendships in this town, and not just have Elena. And besides, he and Willow had hit it off extremely well.

But he worried if it affected her more than she let on.

So when history class came around and there was still no sign of her, he figured she needed a day to herself. His attention went to Elena, the girl who was the reason for him enrolling in high school, again. He smiled at her when she turned to glance at him, and she returned it, grinning happily at him. Elena looked so much like Katherine that at times it was almost disturbing. But over the months of the summer holidays, Stefan could see that was absolutely nothing like her. Elena was kind, caring, and compassionate. She was beautiful because of all of those reasons.

After getting outted by Mr Tanner for not paying attention in his lesson, the bell went, and Stefan and Elena left the class room together.

"I brought it." Stefan told her, pulling a book out of his bag as they both walked down the corridor together. "I told you."

Elena took it from him and smiled, "_'Wuthering Heights' _by Ellis Bell. You know, I can't believe she didn't use her real name."

"All the Bronte sisters used pseudonyms. It was a time when female writers weren't very accepted then." He explained to her as he pulled out his phone from his pocket.

Elena glanced up at him, "Where did you get it?"

Stefan faltered for a second. He needed to come up with lies faster than this. "Uh... It was... passed down. Through the family." He smiled at her. "I have lots of books. Go ahead. Keep it."

Elena frowned and immediately declined, "Oh, no..." But she smiled down at the book. "But I would like to read it again. I promise I'll give it back."

Stefan nodded and smiled happily at her, "Okay." He agreed.

The two carried on walking together to their next class together, while Stefan texted Willow.

_Are you okay? - S_

He waited anxiously for a reply, but it didn't come.

Elena seemed to notice this and asked with concern, "Is everything okay?"

Stefan moved his attention onto her, "Um... yeah, sorta. It's just that one of my friends I made here hasn't turned up today, and I'm a little worried."

Elena frowned, worried as well for his friend, "Oh, no. Well, who is it?"

"Willow Anderson." He answered just as his phone buzzed signally a text. He immediately read it.

_Fine ;) why wouldn't I be? - W_

_You're not in today. Got worried. - S_

Elena stopped in her tracks, her mouth falling agape. _"Willow Anderson? The_ Willow Anderson?" It clicked with Elena then why Stefan left the party with Willow the other night. Suspicion rose in her gut, and she wondered why he would leave with her. She didn't say anything about that though. It'd be something to bring up some other time.

Stefan raised an eyebrow, "Uh... yeah."

Elena shook her head, "No, Stefan, she's bad news, okay? Stay away from her."

Stefan blinked and shifted his bag on his shoulder, "I don't think that's fair. I think she's just having a tough time lately."

"We all are." Elena said forcefully. "But that doesn't mean you turn to drugs and alcohol to get by. She's screwed up my brother, Stefan. I don't want her to do the same to you."

Stefan huffed and looked away from her, "I think she just needs a friend right now. And that's what I''m gonna try to be." He told her with a determined face.

Elena found his compassion and kindness moving, but that didn't change the facts. Willow was a manipulator and a cruel person at times. Bad news was the understatement of the century when it came to Willow Anderson. "Look, I just want you to be careful with her. She can be nasty and cruel sometimes, not to mention all the other stuff that comes with her. She's a real piece of work." Elena sighed as they came to their class room. "Just watch your back with her, please."

Stefan frowned; how bad was Willow? What had she done to make Elena despise her so much? It couldn't just be her friendship with Jeremy. His phone buzzed again and he read the text.

_There's nothing to worry about. Just not in a school mood. I'll be in work tomorrow. I'll see you at the grill when the comet thing is going on. - W_

* * *

Jeremy honestly wasn't surprised when Willow didn't turn up for school. It was her thing; to ditch school every now and then. But he had a feeling that something was wrong. She left the party before him the other night and he hadn't really heard much from her since apart from texts and phone calls. Although, most of his attention was on Vicki lately. It terrified him to his very core when he found her on the ground with an open wound on her neck, and blood everywhere. He thought that Vicki was going to die, but he was so grateful to see her making a recovery in hospital this morning.

Jeremy pushed open the doors of the school, desperate for some fresh air. Although he wasn't searching for Tyler, he did end up finding him by accident. He was chatting to a couple of blonde girls. Jeremy didn't know what came over him; whether it was because of the way that Tyler treated Vicki or how he had betrayed Willow, he didn't know but he guessed it was both. It fueled his anger and drove him over to Tyler.

"Hey, Tyler!" Jeremy yelled. He stormed over to Tyler, who looked annoyed that he had turned up. "Hey, I'm sorry to interrupt. I was just wondering how Vicki was doing since you guys are so close." His tone held a bitter edge to it. "Is she okay?"

Tyler smirked at him and nodded his head, "She's fine. Now get outta here."

Jeremy was persistent though. "How bad is she? Do they know what attacked her? Is she gonna make a full recovery?" Jeremy rounded off a number of questions, all of which were clearly just making Tyler angry. "Was she happy to see you? What room number was she in?"

"I'm gonna kick your ass." Tyler threatened.

Jeremy took a bold step forward, getting in his face, "Yeah, you keep saying that but when are you actually gonna do it? Huh? 'Cause I vote for right here, right now!" He shoved Tyler back roughly.

Tyler looked surprised as he glanced at his two blonde companions, and Jeremy simply raised his eyebrows, waiting for him to do something. "Walk away, Gilbert. You don't have Willow around to protect you now, so this is your final warning."

"No, this is your final warning, dick!" Jeremy snarled. "I'm sick of watching you play Vicki, and I'm sick of you doing everything in your power to hurt Willow. If you hurt either of them one more time, I swear to god I will kill you." He kept his hard gaze on Tyler, who could see that he was serious. Tyler knew that if Jeremy actually found out what happened between him and Willow the other night he would kill him. So Tyler swallowed his guilt and said nothing, looking away from him. Jeremy stomped off, keeping his eyes on him as he did.

Tyler immediately wiped away the unease he was feeling, and scoffed, "Damn, that was like a death threat. Did you hear that?" He smirked to the two girls as he buried his guilt and worry within him.


	8. Forgive

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Polyvore, playlist, Tumblr and Twitter are all on my profile.**

* * *

Who is gripping onto my hand?  
Who is stroking my hair?  
Just now, I was crying; within the sapling  
I feel a sign

**\- The Flower of Hell by Shimamiya Eiko (from Higurashi no Naku Koro ni Kai)**

* * *

Chapter Eight - Forgive

Raven was surprised to wake up in the morning to find that Willow had already left. He had gone to wake her, because even if she set her alarm she still wouldn't get up until he started banging on her door. So after he had turned on the coffee machine, he went to Willow's bedroom. He was never subtle about it and immediately started pounding his fist against the door. "Willow! C'mon, it's time to get up! You're gonna be late!" He waited a few seconds for a disgruntled response, but didn't receive one.

Raven frowned and put his hand on the doorknob, getting ready to turn it. But he decided to call out to her again before hand, just encase that, by some miracle, she was awake and getting dressed. "Willow, I'm coming in, okay?" Again, he waited for her to start yelling at him to stay out of her room but no such response came.

So he turned the doorknob and pushed the door open and stepped into the small, messy room. Clothes were strewn over the floor, a pair of jeans hung haphazardly on the back of a chair that was facing her desk in the corner of her room. Pens and pencils were all over that desk, along with random pieces of drawings that she had started but not finished. Raven's eyes moved to her bed, which she never made anyway, but the bed sheets and blanket were drooping halfway off the little bed.

Raven's fingers tightened on the doorknob that he was still holding onto. Worry and anxiety began to set in. Had she gotten up early to go to school? That was so unlike her that the thought almost made Raven laugh at the prosperity of it. Maybe she had gone to meet Jeremy early for something? The two were attached to the hip; it was possible.

Raven tried not to panic; chances are that she was fine and there was nothing wrong. Sometimes Raven thought that she liked to worry him, just to get a rise out of him. She could be selfish that way. His sister had no idea how much she had him panicking over her well-being.

Raven sighed and left her bedroom, closing the door behind him. He questioned whether he should call his Aunt to let her know that Willow had done a disappearing act. But he was sure that Aunt Liz had other things to attend to; she was the sheriff of the town. But it was Willow, and she could be doing anything right now. Raven didn't trust his little sister so well since a few years ago. He sighed in exasperation, pouring himself a mug of coffee; he knew he was going to need it.

Rather than call the sheriff, Raven decided that he would call his sister first. Because it could be nothing, and Willow could have just left the house early just because. There was probably nothing wrong. Nothing wrong at all.

Raven scoffed and leaned against the kitchen counter, "Yeah, right." He muttered to himself.

* * *

Willow wasn't surprised when her brother called her to demand where she was. She lied and said that she was at school; that she had gotten up early to go with Jeremy because he was desperate to see Vicki, despite visiting hours being closed. Raven didn't argue with that and thought that it was nice of her, but it was obvious by his tone of voice that he was worried about her. Guilt ate away at her; she always managed to make him worry for her. It made her feel awful.

Of course, Jeremy hadn't asked her to go with him to see Vicki. Willow knew that Jeremy wanted to go see Vicki, but he had said that he wanted to go see her by himself. She didn't know why, but she didn't question it. But that didn't mean that Willow didn't want to see Vicki.

Before all of the drama with Tyler cheating on Willow with Vicki, she and Vicki were good friends. They used to hang out together and it was Vicki who introduced her into drugs as being an escape from reality. The two had done other recreational things together. Willow shook her head, not wanting to think about that right now.

Willow sighed quietly to herself as she walked up to the doors of the hospital. It was 10:30 now; she had been out wandering the streets since at least six in the morning.

Willow swallowed as she stared up at the hospital. She wasn't a fan of them. They made her skin crawl and her hair stand on end. Willow could remember the last time she was in the hospital and it made her heart pick up its pace. She closed her eyes, trying not to think of it. The ordeal made her shudder.

People were giving her strange looks as they left and went inside the hospital. Willow mentally scoffed; of course, what did they have to fear from hospitals? All these people probably lived happy lives and the only family that they had lost was their grandmother who was 80 something years old and it was "her time" anyway. Willow sent a nasty scowl at a man who was eyeing her oddly and he blinked in surprise, and then scurried on into the hospital.

Willow took a deep breath and stepped closer to the automatic doors, and gulped when they opened. Willow kept her head down, feeling anxiety creep upon her by being in this place. Taking another self-reassuring breath, she made to step up to the receptionist to ask where Vicki's room was, when her phone went off, signalling a text message. Frowning, she pulled her phone out of her pocket.

_Are you okay? - S_

A small smile came onto Willow's lips and she shook her head. Stefan was worried about her. He had only known her a few days and he was worried for her. She wondered if she should reply. He had other things to be thinking about other than her; probably Elena. Willow scowled at her phone at the thought of the girl and quickly replied. Though it was a lie, it was something.

_Fine ;) why wouldn't I be? - W_

A response came a few seconds later. _You're not in today. Got worried. - S_

"Can I help you?" The receptionist asked, after Willow had been standing in the door way for a few minutes.

Willow blinked and then blushed slightly, glancing around herself nervously. Some people were staring at her, while others were too busy with themselves to even care about her. Willow walked toward the desk and nodded her head at the lady. "Um... yeah actually. Uh, do you think that you could tell me what room Vicki Donovan is in?"

"Are you a family member?" She asked.

"Uh, no. I'm a friend though. I've been worried about her. I was at the party when she was... attacked or whatever, and I wanted to see how she was doing."

The receptionist narrowed her eyes at her, but turned to the computer, typing something in. "Go down this corridor and turn right through double doors. Keep going straight and you should come to a sign that says ward 4. She's in the fifth room on your right."

Willow nodded her head and swallowed. Her throat felt very dry. "Okay, thanks a lot."

Willow walked away from the front desk and began following the directions that the lady had given her. Willow looked down at her phone as she went, sending out a quick reply to Stefan.

_There's nothing to worry about. Just not in a school mood. I'll be in work tomorrow. I'll see you at the grill when the comet thing is going on. - W_

Willow decided to turn her phone off then and put it back in her pocket. Willow still felt anxious as she walked through the corridors, trying to find Vicki's room. Once she had managed to find, it peeking in. She saw Vicki lying in bed, with her neck bandaged up and watching something on the TV. Willow shifted her weight on her feet before knocking the door.

Vicki turned her head slowly to the door and blinked in surprise at the sight of Willow. Willow cleared her throat and waved at her, "Hey... whatcha watching?" She asked awkwardly.

Vicki simply stared at her. That just made Willow feel more awkward, and she scratched the back of her head anxiously. Suddenly, Willow regretted coming. It was clear that Vicki didn't think that she would be here and it seemed like it was just making things uncomfortable. Avoiding Vicki's gaze, she gestured to behind her, "Look, I know that I just came out of the blue. Maybe I shouldn't have come..."

Willow made to leave, but Vicki pipped up, "No!" Vicki cleared her throat, lowering her volume. "Um... I mean, it's okay. Stay."

Willow smiled at her lightly and then stepped into the room, glancing back at the TV. "So you gonna tell me what you're watching?"

"_'Jersey Shore'_" Vicki replied.

Willow pulled a disgusted face, "Ugh! Seriously?"

Vicki smiled lightly, "It's good."

Willow scoffed, "Yeah, sure. A bunch of nobodies being paid to get wasted everyday. Great television." She said sarcastically.

Vicki rolled eyes, starting to relax into her bed, "That's pretty much our lives. Well, except the being paid part, but our lives are just us getting drunk and stoned."

Willow nodded her head, shrugging her shoulders, "I suppose. Still crap TV though."

Vicki huffed and crossed her arms. Willow smiled and turned her attention to the window, stepping towards it. It was silent between the two of them for a minute. Vicki simply watching the girl, almost warily. She didn't understand why Willow had come to see her. It wasn't like they were on good terms.

"Why are you here?" She eventually asked.

Willow's face remained impassive as she continued to stare out the window. "Wanted to see you." She answered simply.

"But why?"

Willow frowned, looking down towards her hands. Her wrists were covered by a jacket so that nobody would see the scars she made on herself earlier. Willow let out a tired sigh, "I'm just... tired." She answered cryptically. "Tired of being mad at you." Willow turned to look at Vicki. "You almost died the other night, and I realised that... it's pointless holding a grudge against you. You have no idea how much energy it takes to hate you everyday for what you did to me."

Vicki's eyes fell downcast, shame coming over her. "I am sorry for what I did; to both you and Jeremy. I know that he's interested in me. And I knew how much you loved Tyler... I dunno why it happened. I shouldn't have started dating him... It was wrong, I know." Vicki gripped the bed sheets in hands uncomfortably, she could feel tears beginning to pool in her eyes. "We used to be such good friends." Finally, Vicki moved her watering gaze back to Willow. "I miss that."

Willow watched her, her brow furrowing. To be honest, she missed their friendship too. But Willow didn't know if she could trust Vicki anymore. It was such a huge betrayal; it tore her apart. Willow closed her eyes and breathed in. "Do you think they'd be pissed if I smoked in here? They probably wouldn't notice if I opened the window, right?" Vicki didn't reply, but Willow didn't wait for one and started opening the window, and lit a cigarette.

Willow brought the cigarette to her mouth, breathing in and then out, blowing the smoke away. "I wanna be friends with you too. Like I said, I'm tired of hating you."

Vicki wiped her eyes and took a deep breath, before pushing the bed sheets back and standing up. She came to Willow's side. "Can I have a smoke?"

Willow raised an eyebrow at her. "You allowed?"

Vicki shrugged, "Who cares?"

Willow smirked and offered her a cigarette and her lighter.

The two girls smoked together in silence, saying nothing. It was almost peaceful, despite the setting. Willow closed her eyes.

"I'm glad you're not dead."

Vicki's lips quirked up a little. "I'm glad I'm not dead too."

* * *

**It's not my intention to make Elena into a bitch. Elena has a good reason to dislike Willow, and this will be explored. This story is not a hate on Elena, since she becomes a very pivotal part in Willow's life. I just wanna clear that up with everyone who seems to think that this story is simply hating on Elena when that's not the case. **


	9. Suspicion

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Polyvore, playlist, Tumblr and Twitter are all on my profile.**

* * *

I go checking out the reports - digging up the dirt  
You get to meet all sorts in this line of work  
Treachery and treason - there's always an excuse for it  
And when I find the reason I still can't get used to it

**\- Private Investigations by Dire Straits **

* * *

Chapter Nine - Suspicion

Vicki's room was filled with laughter.

"Are you serious?" Vicki managed to ask between her laughter.

Willow nodded with a smile on her face, "Seriously. I mean, the teacher went out crying. It was pretty horrific."

Vicki took a deep breath to calm her laughter. "Oh, my God! Only you could say something like that."

Willow shrugged her shoulders and leaned back in her chair, resting her feet on Vicki's bed. "It was an accident actually."

Vicki let out another chuckle, shaking her head at her while she relaxed back in her bed and took a bite out of a strawberries and cream doughnut. The bed was covered in two empty boxes from McDonald's; Willow had actually left and gone to the nearest McDonald's after Vicki said she was in desperate need in some "decent food". Not only that, but she also got Krispy Kreme doughnuts aswell. Willow had outdone herself. When Vicki had asked how she had managed to afford all this food she just said that their boss at the Mystic Grill, Mr. Bridges, had actually given her pay this month so she could afford it.

Willow reached for the last doughnut and took a bite out of it, cream dripping from her mouth slightly. She wiped it with the back of her hand before licking it off of herself. Willow had wanted to ask Vicki about what had happened at the party, but she wasn't sure how to broach the subject. She shifted in her seat slightly and swallowed the piece of doughnut that was in hear mouth.

Willow cleared her throat, "So, when'd they say you'd be outta here?"

"Today hopefully." Vicki said. "I am so sick of this place." Vicki whined.

Willow nodded, taking another bite of her doughnut. "Yeah, I would be too. This place is depressing. I practically had to sneak all this food in here." Willow sighed and shook her head, "You have no idea how hard that was."

Vicki grinned, "I can imagine."

Willow smirked and finished off the rest of her doughnut, and leaned forward in her seat. "So... about the other night..." Willow began, her tone hesitant. "What happened?"

Vicki frowned and looked down, "I-I-I don't know... it's all a blur really." Vicki replied nervously.

"It was like an animal or something, right? I mean, if it was, what kind of animal? I didn't even know we had something like that around here."

Vicki fell silent and didn't reply; she just kept her head down. Willow furrowed her brows worriedly at her. "Hey, look, I'm sorry I brought it up. I shouldn't have said anything. I was just being nosy."

"Is that why you came here?" Vicki suddenly asked, becoming slightly hostile. "Just to get some gossip on me?"

Willow's eyes widened at the accusation, "What? No! I was seriously worried about you. I mean, of course I wanna know what happened, but I care more that you're okay. You don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."

Vicki blinked and nibbled on her chapped, bottom lip. She seemed nervous all of a sudden and looked towards the door, as if to check if anyone was listening or about to walk in. Willow raised an eyebrow at her and stood up, stepped towards the door and pushed it closed. She sat back in her seat to make Vicki feel more at ease, but it didn't help Willow herself. If Vicki was suddenly worried about someone hearing what she had to say, then she was anxious as to what had attacked her the other night. She waited with bated breath.

Vicki took a deep breath and her green eyes met Willow with such an intensity that it made Willow's whole body tense. "It was a vampire."

Willow blinked and rested her elbows on her knees. She looked confused, as if she hadn't heard her. "A... a _vampire_? Like... suck your blood, fangs and turning into a bat, kind of... _vampire_...?" Willow was completely bewildered by this revelation. A vampire? A part of her wanted to laugh, accuse her of joking. But by the serious expression on her face and the stoniness in which she had said it, it looked like Vicki wasn't lying. She honestly believed that a vampire had attacked her.

Willow scratched her head, "Um... I..."

"I know it sounds crazy." Vicki interrupted. "But I _saw_ it. He had fangs, and-and- he _ripped_ into my throat with them." Vicki leaned forward slightly, keeping Willow's attention. She touched her bandaged neck tentatively. "I could _feel _him drinking my blood, I felt it leave my body." Vicki shook her head slowly, keeping her hard gaze on Willow's. "That was no fucking animal attack."

Willow's mouth was agape slightly, and her eyes were blinking frantically, trying to process Vicki's words. Vicki seemed so serious, and actually scared. Willow didn't know how to take it in. Her dark eyes darted to Vicki's neck, where a bandage was placed over where she was bitten. Willow's eyes widened. _She was_ _bitten on the neck! _If it was an animal, surely it would have attacked somewhere where there was more meat or something if it was trying to eat her. But no, whatever had attacked her, had gone solely for the neck and nothing else.

But it just couldn't be true. Vampires weren't real! They were fictional monsters made up in books and films.

"You should go." Vicki suddenly said, her voice void of any emotion.

"What? Vicki, no, I mean-"

"You really should." Vicki butted in. "I'm tired. I want to sleep before I have to go back to work."

Willow shook her head, "No, it's fine. I can cover your shift at work."

"No, I need the money anyway." Vicki replied. "Can you throw this stuff out? I wanna sleep now."

Willow nodded her head slowly, "Um... okay. I'll see you later, I guess." Willow picked up the trash and threw it in the trash can, glancing back at Vicki. Willow quickly stepped towards her, and ran her fingers through Vicki's hair gently. The two had always been close and she missed this. They had even gone as far as to experiment with their sexuality with eachother, and Willow missed that intimacy that they had used to have. Feeling strangely emotional, Willow leaned down and kissed her cheek. "Feel better soon, Vick."

Vicki smiled up at her, not at all affronted by the younger girl's actions. "Yeah." Willow stepped towards the door. "See you at the comet festival."

Willow nodded, waved towards her and opened the door and left. Willow leaned against the door for a few seconds, still trying to let everything sink in. It was all so bizarre; like it was out of some kind of teen drama or something. Vampires attacking people? Was she trapped in a bad television show or something? Willow sighed, shook her head and began making her way down the corridor.

As she rounded the corner she spotted Matt walking towards her. She smiled lightly when she saw him, "Hey, Matt!" Willow called.

Matt turned his head towards the sound of her voice and raised an eyebrow at her as the two came closer to one another. "Willow, hey. You weren't in school today."

Willow shrugged her shoulders, stuffing her hands in her vest pocket. "Been here most of the day."

"Really? Why? Is someone here that you know?"

Willow shook her head and smiled at him, "Nope. Was with your big sis all day. Kept her company."

Matt blinked in surprise, "Seriously? I thought you two hated eachother."

Willow waved a dismissive hand, "Nah, all water under the bridge. Been worried about her, so I thought it's time to let bygones be bygones."

Matt smiled, "Well, I'm glad. I think she missed having you around. I know I did."

Willow grinned and punched him in the arm. He groaned and rubbed it, but he had a smile on his face. "I bet you did, Donovan."

"I sure as hell haven't miss the abuse." He smirked.

Willow scoffed, "Oh, go cry me a river, Matty."

Matt chuckled and stepped around her, "I should go check on Vick."

Willow nodded, becoming serious again. "Yeah... she said she was tired when I was leaving so, she might be asleep." Matt nodded at her in thanks, before turning around to walk towards Vicki's room. Willow swallowed, contemplating whether she should tell Matt what Vicki had told her. He was her brother after all. But then again, she had a brother and she hated him knowing everything about her. But this was serious; this wasn't about Vicki sneaking out or smoking pot. This was about something (a vampire apparently) attacking her.

"Um, Matt!" Willow called out.

He stopped and turned around. "Yeah?"

Willow shifted her weight, unsure how to tell him. "Uh... Vicki said some... pretty weird shit earlier. About what attacked her."

Matt's eyes lit up with interest and he walked back towards her. "What'd she say?"

Willow swallowed, "She said... she said that a _vampire_ attacked her."

Matt's face fell, his entire body going stiff. Willow became nervous. "She said that to you too?"

Willow frowned. "Wait, she told you too?"

Matt nodded his head grimly. "Yeah, she told me a few days ago. I don't know why she thinks that a vampire attacked her."

Willow shrugged her shoulders, "She was bitten in the neck." As if that was explanation enough.

"You're not saying you believe her?"

Willow shook her head, not knowing what to say. "I dunno... I mean, it can't be true, right? A vampire attacking her? But..."

"But...?"

"But why would she think a vampire attacked her? Anything but a vampire. But no, that's what she thinks attacked her. And she told me _he. __He _attacked her." Willow gave him a look, not sure whether she should be convincing him to believe Vicki when she herself wasn't even too sure.

"Wait, a man attacked her. I gotta tell the sheriff." Matt said and turned away from her, walking towards Vicki's room quickly.

Willow opened her mouth to stop him, but didn't see the point. Maybe her Aunt could do something if it was some sick fuck going around biting people.

Willow groaned, and rubbed her hand on her forehead, suddenly feeling tired. With sluggish movements, she turned and carried on walking down the corridor, the opposite direction of Vicki's room.

Once she finally made it out of the hospital, she pulled out her lighter and cigarette, immediately lighting it and putting it to her mouth. She leaned against the wall of the hospital, breathing out smoke. Willow knew she'd have to go home soon; she had work in two hours. Right when everyone else was enjoying the comet, she was forced to be a waitress to a bunch of ungrateful teens. Willow closed her eyes and rested her against the brick wall.

Willow was in her own world, smoking and relaxing for a few moments before she caught the next bus and made her way home, when she heard a thud. It was like feet hitting concrete after they jumped in the air or something. Willow opened her eyes, finding a familiar person walk briskly passed her.

"Stefan?" Willow called out, flicking the cigarette away and stepping on it.

Stefan froze and turned around, surprised to see her. Willow raised an eyebrow at him, confused by the bewildered look on his face. "Stefan, hey. Fancy seeing you here." Willow said as she walked towards him.

Stefan nodded. "Yeah..." He glanced back at the hospital. "You were in the hospital?" He asked.

Willow nodded her head, "Yeah, I was visiting Vicki. I wanted to see how she was after the whole... animal attack..." Willow said uncertainly.

"You went to see her? How was she?" He suddenly seemed very interested. Willow just figured it was because he was just a nice guy who cared about everyone.

"Um... yeah, she's doing okay. Hopefully she'll be out today. You'll probably see her at the Grill later if you're going to the comet festival." Willow shook her head, realising that she was rambling. "Anyway, she said some weird stuff, about what attacked her and all. But maybe she's just messed up 'cause of the blood loss and all." Willow shrugged her shoulders. "So, what are you doing here?"

Stefan's green eyes hardened when Willow told him about Vicki mentioning what had attacked her the other night. Worry coursing through him; if Vicki told Willow about a vampire attacking her then that put Willow in danger, especially with his monstrous brother running around. "Wait, she said to you what attacked her?" He asked, avoiding Willow's own question with one of his own.

Willow nodded her head, frowning at his curiosity, "Um, yeah..." She waved a hand at him; she didn't want to talk about it again. "But it was nothing. Just her imagination running away with her. No big deal." Willow smiled thinly at him. She liked Stefan, but she didn't think Vicki would want her telling everyone what she thought had attacked her the other night. It would most likely make Vicki look like a laughing stock.

"Huh." Stefan nodded his head. He could tell that she knew something, and maybe he should compel her to forget whatever Vicki had told her. But it took a lot to just compel Vicki to think that it was an animal that had attacked her, he wasn't sure that he had it in him to change Willow's mind too. And besides, it looked like she didn't believe a word of what Vicki had said anyway.

"But yeah, what were you doing here?" Willow asked again.

"Uh, visiting family." He answered cryptically.

"Oh, are they sick?"

"Yeah, they have been for a while." Stefan answered easily.

"Sorry about that. That must suck." Willow cringed at her own choice of words. She was seriously awkward sometimes; especially around gorgeous guys.

Stefan cleared his throat as the two began walking together, "So, why weren't you in school today?"

"First thing you learn about me is that I ditch school a lot." Willow smirked. "Did you miss me?"

"Well, yeah. I kind of need my one other friend in the school to be there so I don't look like a loser." He joked.

Willow scoffed and elbowed him in the side, "Like hell you need me. Everyone loves you. Being fresh meat and all." Willow smirked at him, but it dropped as soon as it came. "Besides, don't you have the lovely Miss Elena Gilbert?"

Stefan glanced at her, noticing the bitter tone in which she said Elena's name. "You two don't like eachother, do you?"

"Wow! What gave it away?"

Stefan rolled his eyes, "She just doesn't seem to trust you at all. And you seem... um... to not like her." He didn't want to insult her by saying something he would later regret, but he wanted to be in both of these girls' lives, and he wanted to get to the bottom of their feud.

Willow sighed loudly and swung her arms back and forth, "Look, it's the whole Jeremy thing. Me and him are best friends and she's always hated it. With me being "into the wrong crowd"," Willow used quotation marks, "she just thinks I'm sucking Jeremy into it too, which is not the case." Even though that was partly true as to why Elena despised her so much, it wasn't the entire truth. And Stefan could see that.

"But there's something else going on, right?" Stefan pushed.

Willow narrowed her eyes up at him, "It's not all my fault if that's what you're thinking. She's no saint either."

"I'm not saying that, Will. I just..." He sighed and looked down at her. She was very short. "I like you both, and I don't want to have to deal with one or the other telling me not to hang out with either of you."

Willow stopped walking, a scowl on her face. "She said that. About me?" Willow shook head. "Of course she would." She muttered to herself. "Fucking bitch." Willow spat quietly to herself, but Stefan heard it anyway and flinched at her choice of words about the girl he was currently interested in.

"Hey, there's no need for that." Stefan reprimanded.

Willow glowered at him. "Look, Stefan, you don't know jack shit about what's gone on between us. So before you go defending her, go find out the real story. From her. Hear her side of the story first, then I'll tell you mine."

Her gaze was hard and Stefan stared back at her with the same intensity. Whatever had gone on between these two girls was obviously very serious, and he was determined to get the bottom their issues. But he didn't want to fight with Willow about it. They had only just became friends after all.

"I don't wanna fight with you." Stefan said calmly. Willow snorted. "Seriously, I don't. I like you both and I'd rather not be in the middle of a tug of war." He tried to joke, but Willow continued to glower, except at the ground this time.

"Whatever." Willow relented. "It's no big deal to me anyway." Willow sniffed and carried on walking. Stefan rolled his eyes and followed her.

It became silent between the two, and Stefan worried that he'd crossed a line with her. He didn't want to lose her as a friend yet. And besides, he was still worried about her after the Tyler incident the other night. "How are you doing after the other night with Tyler?"

Willow stiffened and looked away from Stefan. "Um... fine." Willow practically choked out, and Stefan could tell that she most definitely was not fine.

Stefan gently touched her wrist. He could feel her muscles tighten underneath his hold and he released her. "Hey, it's okay. You can talk about it."

Willow shook her head, "No, I can't. I don't want to. It makes me feel sick just thinking about what he almost did to me."

Stefan placed a hand on her shoulder in comfort. "You don't need to. It wasn't your fault. And he didn't get to... you know." He didn't want to say it, it made him feel a little sick just thinking about it too if he hadn't managed to hear her panicked voice that night. What would've happened to her?

"It doesn't matter because I still feel like..." She squeezed her eyes shut. "I don't wanna talk about it, think about it, or anything, okay?"

Stefan suddenly pulled her into his arms, and Willow's eyes snapped open. She stiffened in his grip, confused by his actions. Willow swallowed and sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. Very slowly she wrapped her arms around his back, as if unsure. Eventually she relaxed and let out a breath. Stefan didn't say anything, but Willow felt that this spoke louder than words.


	10. Hidden

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Polyvore, playlist, Tumblr and Twitter are all on my profile.**

* * *

I cry sometimes walking around my own place  
Wondering why she cries sometimes  
Talking about her own place  
Somewhere around the mountains  
No one could dry her fountain  
Till she got tired to complain  
That's when I fly to the wildland, to your land

**\- To All Of You by Syd Matters**

* * *

Chapter Ten - Hidden

Raven sighed as he pulled back from the car he was working on, and wiped his oily hands onto his jeans. He checked the time on the wall inside the garage, and was relieved to see that it was almost time for him to leave. He needed to talk to Willow; make sure everything was really okay with her. Raven heard the sound of a car pulling up slowly just outside the garage, but was busy in fixing up the engine of the car.

"Um... excuse me?" A quiet voice said. Though Raven clearly didn't hear them as he continued to work. The person cleared their throat, "Excuse me!"

Raven jumped at the raised voice, and looked up immediately. A young woman was standing a few feet away from him, beside a blue Ford KA. She was slender and tall, looking to be 5'5" or possibly taller. The sunlight shone on her from behind her, allowing her dark hair to show some brown. She had mocha coloured skin, with large, dark brown eyes and full lips. Raven thought that she was beautiful. He smiled at her and stepped towards her, "I'm sorry, I was working and I didn't hear you. Is there anything I can help you with?"

The girl nodded her head. "It's alright." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I was just wondering if you could figure out what's wrong with my car." She gestured to it beside her.

Raven nodded, "Yeah, sure. What's the problem you've been having?"

She sighed, sounding resigned. She rubbed her forehead tiredly. On closer inspection Raven could see that she had bags under her eyes. "It's been making this loud knocking sound when I drive, and it gets worse when I turn. I'm worried that it might be something that could cause me to crash."

"Yeah, I gotcha. Alright, I can check it over, see what the problem is and have it fixed for you."

She let out a breath of relief, "Thank you." She rubbed her hand down her face, "Hopefully, it's not too bad. This is not what I need right now."

Raven frowned, "Everything alright?"

She shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, just college."

"Hm." Raven mumbled. "You go to college? What one?"

"Whitmore." She answered him. "It had the best medical program."

Raven smiled knowingly, "Ah, hoping to become a doctor or something?"

"Or something."

It was silent between the two, Raven wanted to ask more about her. He hadn't had a girlfriend in almost two years, not being able to commit to them due to his constant worry for Willow.

"Um, so should I give you my number?" She asked.

Raven blinked, "Oh! Yeah. I'll give you the company number too, encase you have any questions." They both wrote their names and numbers down and handed it to the other. Raven had written the company's name and number on there, not feeling bold enough to write down his name and number with it.

She was just about to leave, but stopped and asked almost shyly, "Uh... what's your name, by the way?" Raven raised an eyebrow at her. She blushed. "Just so I know who I should ask for if I call."

Raven chuckled and nodded his head, "Raven Anderson." She nodded and walked briskly away.

Raven realised when she was gone that he hadn't asked for her name and opened his mouth to call out to her, but looked down at the slip of paper in his hands. He smiled.

_"Kayla Matthews."_

* * *

"So, are you going to the comet festival?" Willow asked Stefan as the two of them walked down the street together.

"Yeah, I think so." Stefan answered. "You're working, right?"

Willow nodded her head begrudgingly, "Sadly, yes. It's gonna be packed in the Grill tomorrow." She stuffed her hands in her denim vest pocket. "So not in the mood to be serving all those people."

"Hey, at least you get paid." Stefan pointed out.

Willow scoffed, "Pfft! In pennies. My boss is a cheapskate. He only has me and Vicki for waitresses and these two other guys working behind the bar, and a couple of chefs." She shook her head in annoyance. "He's an asshole."

Stefan frowned sympathetically, "Can't you get another job?"

"Yeah, where?" Willow questioned. "This is a ghost town; hardly anyone is hiring. There's no way I'd risk leaving. I need the money, and a job is a job."

Concern etched onto Stefan's face. He knew that she lived in an apartment with her brother; he had taken her there the night of the party, so he knew that she needed money to pay bills and buy food. Although, Stefan also knew that Willow had a drug habit. She must be paying someone to get the stuff that she wanted. This just made Stefan determined to help her curb her drug problem.

Willow pointed a finger at him and told him firmly, "Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you feel sorry for me. Well, you know what? You don't have to. I'm fine." Her tone was defensive, and she began to speed up. Stefan realised that he'd have to start walking on egg shells around her. Anything could tip her attitude. It was obvious that she didn't like divulging in her own problems too much. It was frustrating to Stefan. He wanted to help her, but everytime he came a step closer she took ten steps back.

"I don't feel sorry for you, Willow." Stefan told her when he had caught up with her. "I just care about you."

Willow didn't know why she flew off the handle at him. It was just second nature to her to push people away when they showed an inkling of care or kindness towards her. Plus, she had problems that she needed to deal with on her own that she didn't want Stefan to know about. It could end up getting him hurt, or worse. "Well, don't worry about."

Just as she said that, a boy who was walking with his mother in front of Stefan and Willow, tripped and fell. A cry immediately came from the child, and his mother panicked and moved her hands to his leg, pulling up the leg of the jean to reveal a small cut that was dripping a tiny amount of blood.

Willow cringed at the screeching child, and looked back to Stefan. Willow frowned in confusion when she saw something weird happen to his eyes; strange markings appearing below his eyes and it seemed that his eyes almost darkened in colour. Willow blinked her eyes, thinking that she was just imagining it. But no, it was still there.

"What the hell?" Willow breathed, horrified.

Her words caused Stefan to snap back to his senses, turning his head away from her and everyone else. He calmed himself down enough to allow his face to return to normal. When he turned back he saw that Willow was looking at him with wide, brown eyes, eyes that were almost fearful. His heart sped up; she had seen. She saw what happened to his face at the sight of blood.

"What... what the hell just happened to your face?" She demanded.

Stefan knew that it was risky, but he had to deny it. "Nothing. What are you talking about?"

Willow shook her head, "No, okay, I saw it. Don't say that nothing happened."

"Nothing did happen, Willow."

Willow didn't like this. She didn't like being told that what she just saw wasn't real. She'd already dealt with something like this before, and the fact that Stefan was telling her it never happened was worrying her more than the possible fact that his face just changed to something demonic. "Don't say that to me, okay? Please don't. I saw."

Stefan could see her actually getting upset over his denial of what she had seen. She sounded panicked and upset, and Stefan was starting to think that it went deeper than what she had just seen. "Willow, calm down, okay? You were just seeing things, it's alright."

That, apparently, was the wrong thing to say. "No!" She pointed a finger at him. "Don't say that! Don't say that to me!"

Stefan was becoming severely worried over her behaviour. He quickly took a hold of her lower arms and forced her to look at him, "Hey, hey, look at me. Look at my face, okay?" He didn't know what to do. He couldn't tell her what she had seen was real, her knowing about vampires would put her in serious danger. But it seemed that telling her that she was just seeing things was getting her into hysterics. "Willow, everything is fine, okay? I won't say that ever again."

People were starting to stare at them, Stefan could see them out of the corner of his eye. He swallowed, and began to lead her off somewhere secluded and away from prying eyes. He turned into an alley. It was dark and difficult for Willow to see, but it was obvious that she didn't care because she was still hung up on what Stefan had said and what had happened. Stefan focused on her once they had no audience. "Willow, I promise I won't say that to you again, okay?"

She shook her head, "Don't say that to me. Don't say that to me." She mumbled to herself, almost swaying from side to side. Her legs suddenly felt like jelly.

"I won't, Willow." Stefan told her adamantly.

She took a deep breath and her eyes met his. "Then tell me what just happened."

Stefan floundered; she was still insistent that something had happened to his face. He blinked his eyes a few times and sighed in resignation. "I can't tell you."

Willow raised an eyebrow, "Huh? So I wasn't seeing things? That did happen to your face?"

Stefan hung his head and turned away from her, "_I can't tell you, Willow_."

Willow gasped and swallowed. Stefan pushed himself away from her, eyes meeting hers. An understanding being made between them; she had her own secrets, and he had his.

It was just a matter of uncovering them.

* * *

**One day I will finish this episode... **


	11. Same Lives

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Polyvore, playlist, Tumblr and Twiiter are all on my profile.**

* * *

You may call it in this evening  
But you've only lost the night  
Preset all your pretty feelings  
May they comfort you tonight  
And I'm climbing over something  
And I'm running through these walls

**\- Believe by Mumford &amp; Sons**

* * *

Chapter Eleven - Same Lives

After their weird interaction together, Stefan left Willow immediately. Willow didn't try and stop him. She stayed in that alleyway for way longer than she thought that she had, because when she looked at her phone to check the time it was coming up to 4 o'clock. Willow sighed and ran a hand down her face almost tiredly.

Willow blinked her eyes a few times and then looked up to the sky. It was still bright out, but winter was coming and soon the nights would be drawing in closer and becoming longer. For some reason that sent a shiver down her spine.

Willow shook her head in order to prevent her from thinking about what had happened with Stefan earlier. Even though she did want to find out what the deal was with him, it seemed like it was a problem for another day. So she looked back at her phone and texted Jeremy, wondering where he was and if he wanted to meet up. His reply was immediate, and they agreed to meet in the town square because they were both not too far away from there.

Willow grunted as she stood up, joints popping in her knees as she did so. She rolled her shoulders and stepped out of the alleyway. People stared at her, but she paid them no mind and just stuffed her hands in her denim jacket and began her walk to the town square. It didn't take her long to get to him. Jeremy had his back towards her and the hood of his jacket pulled up over his head. She rolled her eyes and let out a small laugh. She picked up her pace, coming up to Jeremy, and jumped onto his back, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. She heard him grunt and stumble slightly, but he managed to stay balanced with the added weight currently residing on his back.

"Nice to see you too." Jeremy greeted.

"I know, right?" Will smirked, tightening her arms around his neck and resting her chin on his shoulder.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "Where were you today?" He asked.

Willow sighed and dropped her eyes to the ground. She released Jeremy and dropped down from his back. "Just didn't feel like school today. You know how I get." She shuffled her feet and avoided meeting his eyes. She didn't feel like talking about the real reason as to why she wasn't in today. Willow desperately needed to get Tyler and what he did to her off her mind.

"Yeah, I do." Jeremy replied. "But it's only been a week."

Willow scoffed and shoved him, but there was no malice behind it. "Says the guy who's ditched every history class."

Jeremy rolled his eyes with a smile, "Totally different. I'm going to school; I just don't bother with half the classes."

"Oh, yeah, that's _soooo_ different."

Jeremy chuckled and shook his head. Eventually his laughter died away and he let out a breath, condensation making his breath visible. "We're a mess, aren't we?"

Willow frowned at this. Even though he worded it as a question, it was clear that it was meant as a statement. She chewed on her bottom lip, and pulled out her lighter. "You're just realising that now?"

Jeremy watched her as she lit a cigarette. The light giving her an almost ominous look in the dark. "It's just..." He looked down to his feet. "Is it ever gonna get any better? Or is this it for us? Just two kids that have lost their parents and are watching their world falling apart around them?"

Willow left the cigarette in her mouth for a few moments, contemplating his questions. She wished that she had the answers to them, for his sake more than her own. But he was right; was it going to get better? Or was this what they were going to have to resign themselves too? Because things definitely hadn''t gotten better for Willow. Her mother had been dead for four years now, and since then things had only gotten worse. She and Raven were sent into care for months after their mother killed herself. Their father disappeared without a trace. Willow found herself having a mental breakdown, going to countless doctors until she couldn't take the pain of the memories that her house brought her so she burnt her house to the ground. After that, she was sectioned and stayed for a year, before eventually being released. And then she managed to get herself mixed into the wrong crowd, being dragged into drugs and all sorts of petty crimes. All of this in the span of four years. Nothing had gotten better, it only got worse.

And now Jeremy was going the same way that she was...

Releasing the smoke from her lungs, Willow smiled up at her best friend. "For you." Willow told him. "It's gonna get better for you."

Jeremy stared at her, seeing the sincerity and almost wisdom in her eyes. He frowned, "But what about you?"

Willow gave him a heartbreaking smile and threw her cigarette to the floor, and pressed her heal into it, putting out the light. Darkness covered them both. "C'mon. I'm bored here. Let's go do something." With that, Willow casually went forward, shoving her hands into her denim vest pockets. Jeremy watched her for a moment, before following her into the darkness.

* * *

Willow and Jeremy's laughter echoed through the quiet street. The two were idly going to Jeremy's house after spending the entire night together simply being together. Eventually the two had started smoking something, leaving them in a giggly and happy state.

"You gotta be quiet!" Jeremy shushed.

"Says the guy that just yelled!" She replied haughtily.

"Sshh!"

"Pfft!

Jeremy entered his house as quietly as he could, dragging Willow in with him. Willow stumbled after him, and Jeremy tried to drag her up the stairs with him. Though they were already caught.

"Jeremy?" Jeremy and Elena's aunt Jenna called. "Jeremy, where were you?"

Willow smirked at him, "Oh, you didn't tell your auntie where you were going?"

"Shut up!" Jeremy elbowed her.

"Jeremy!" Jenna called angrily when she got to the bottom of the stairs. Her hands were on her hips and she looked furious. Her eyes darted between both Willow and Jeremy.

Jeremy sighed and smiled lazily at her. "More stoner stories? Look, Jenna, I get it, you were cool. And so that's... that's cool." Jeremy gave her thumbs up and turned to leave with Willow.

"She did drugs?" Willow asked Jeremy in a quiet voice. Jeremy nodded and Willow snorted. The two were half way up the stairs when apple went flying into the back of Jeremy's head, and then bounced towards her. Willow batted the fruit away and then turned around to face Jenna. She raised her arms and glared at the woman. "What the fuck?!"

"Ow!" Jeremy exclaimed. "Why? Why... why did you do that?" Jeremy stammered out.

"Listen up!" Jenna insisted in a raised voice. "Quit ditching class or you're grounded. No discussion."

"Parental authority. I like it. Sleep tight." Jeremy nodded, and again the two attempted to go up stairs.

"Oh, no! She's not staying." Jenna pointed at Willow. "You. Go home."

"What? Why?" Willow whined.

"Because you are half the problem." Jenna told her. "You're leading him astray."

Willow scoffed and folded her arms over her chest. "He can make his own choices. I'm not holding a gun to his head."

"I don't care!" Jenna hissed. "Leave. Now."

Jeremy shook his head, "No. Elena can bring her boring friends over, so I can bring mine."

Willow scowled at him. "I'm not boring." She mumbled.

Jenna shook her head. "This is different. Elena's friends aren't drug-using, delinquents."

Willow glowered at the older woman and stepped down the stairs. She came down enough steps to make herself eye level with her. "Because that's all I am, right? Just a delinquent?"

"I'm not dealing with your drama tonight, Willow." Jenna told her sternly.

Willow smirked snidely at Jenna. "Yeah. Wouldn't wanna cause you any trouble." She glanced back at Jeremy. "You know what? I'll see you tomorrow." Willow winked at him and made her way towards the front door, whistling. She slammed the door shut as she went.

Jenna sighed and placed her head in her hands. Jeremy eyed the door for a second, before moving his gaze to Jenna. "You know, I'm getting really sick of everyone hating her." With that, Jeremy turned and headed to his bedroom.

* * *

Willow let out a breath when she eventually got home. She closed the door as quietly as she could, wary that Raven could wake up at the slightest sound because he was such a light sleeper.

"Where've you been?"

Willow stiffened and closed her eyes. She turned around to face her brother who was sitting on the couch. "Seriously?" She gestured towards him. "You're just sitting there, waiting for me to get back?"

"Pretty much." Raven replied as he stood up to face her.

"Oh my God. Raven, you really need to get a girlfriend. Or a hobby."

Raven chuckled and shook his head. "Yeah, go ahead. Make jokes. Because my life has become you. I lose sleep over you. I freak out about your every move." Willow narrowed her eyes at him. "Like this morning. You getting up early freaked me out. That's not normal. You know that, and I know that."

Willow shrugged her shoulders, "Then stop freaking out. I'm not a kid."

"Actually, you are. You're seventeen. That's still classed as being a kid."

Willow rolled her eyes. "Look, it's your choice to act the way that you do. Just like it's mine to act the way that I do." Willow began walking towards her bedroom. "I'm not making you do this. I _want _you to go out with friends, or get a girlfriend." Willow winked at him. "You might be a little rusty, but I bet you still got some moves." She smirked at him.

Raven raised an eyebrow at her. "Why do you care what I do?"

"Because all I hear from you is how difficult it is to look out for me." Willow told him, her face had lost all form of mirth. "I'm tired of you trying to guilt me into feeling bad about every little thing." Willow shrugged her shoulders, her dark eyes staring into his light ones. "I'm finding my own way, somehow. It may not be how you, or Aunt Liz like it, but I'm getting there. So just live your life." With those seemingly words of wisdom, Willow turned and went into her bedroom.

Raven stayed standing there for a few minutes, absorbing her words. His eyes glanced at the piece of paper with the number of the client that came into his work today.

* * *

This had to be the busiest the Mystic Grill had been in a long time. The place was heaving with people, mainly students from Willow's school. But this just made Willow annoyed because it meant that she had to work constantly, even if Vicki was coming back this evening to help lift some of the work load from her and her other colleagues.

Willow sighed as she brought a drink to Jeremy. She smiled at him as she gave him his Pepsi. "So, when's Vicki coming in?" Jeremy asked as soon as she came over.

Willow rolled her eyes good naturedly. "She should be here in a few minutes. Cool it, loverboy."

Jeremy narrowed his eyes at her. "Shut up." Willow simply laughed just as Vicki entered the restaurant.

Willow nodded in her direction. "Here she comes to wreck the day!" Willow sang with a smirk as Vicki walked towards them.

Jeremy rolled his eyes at her comment, his eyes on Vicki. She looked a lot better from yesterday. She still had her neck patched up, and she still looked like she could use a few more hours sleep, but other than that she seemed fine.

Willow sighed and smiled, leaving them to it. Just as she was about to go serve someone else, a person stepped into her path. "Hey-!" She started but stopped herself once she saw who it was. Her voice got caught in her throat. Her breathing stopped suddenly and it felt like her throat was being constricted.

"Hey, Willow." Tyler greeted her stonily.

Willow blinked her wide eyes up at him. Looking away, she stepped back, meaning to walk away. But Tyler grabbed her wrist swiftly, preventing her from going anyway. Panic set in and she turned back to him. "Let go of me." Willow told him quietly.

"We need to talk." Tyler told her.

Willow shook her head, "No we really don't."

Tyler narrowed his eyes at her, his grip tightening on her for a second. Willow glowered hatefully at him. Gathering up strength, Willow ripped her arm out of his grip. "You stay away from me, and away from Vicki. I swear to God, if I find out that you've done anything to her I'll kill you. Got it?" She shoved him back, forcing him stumble and bump into a couple who began complaining to him. Willow glared at him a moment longer before stomping away from him.

* * *

**Sorry it''s taken me so long. And I know this chapter sucks, but I've been so busy with my new job that I've just been too tired and had no time to do anything. A new chapter will be up when I have the chance. **


	12. Terror

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Polyvore, Tumblr and 8tracks all on my profile.**

* * *

A terrible mistake was made  
The weight would break the backs of 10 strong horses tried to save  
The castle in the fray  
If you knew, that I could take the pain  
Inflicted at the battle  
With faithful arrows  
You might get back in the saddle  
But It's a special death you saved  
For me the brown eyed daughter  
Once you made it hotter  
The thankless holy praise  
Is left alone why bother  
To cast a stone in water

**\- Special Death by Mirah**

* * *

Chapter Twelve - Terror

Tyler stayed in the Mystic Grill, watching Willow intensely since she told him to leave herself and Vicki alone. It annoyed her, but she tried to ignore it to the best of her ability. Besides, she was hoping to go on her break soon and hopefully she would be able to sneak out the back and Tyler wouldn't be able to follow her.

Willow had just delivered a meal to a young couple, and was about to go and tell Vicki that she was planning on going on her break now, when her boss, Robert came into her path. Robert was a middle aged man, not particularly nice to look at with his huge beer gut. He always looked grumpy.

"Willow, I need you to stay on tonight." He told her.

Willow blinked. "But my shift ends at 7."

"And I need you to stay on til we close." Robert told her in a voice that said to her that he could care less.

"That's not fair. I've done my hours for the we-"

Robert eyed her with a hard glare. "You're staying on, Willow." He started to walk away from her.

"Are you at least gonna pay me for overtime?" But her boss just continued on his way as if she'd said nothing.

Willow glowered at him, turning around and throwing a tea towel onto a nearby table. She stormed over to Vicki by the bar and told her stonily. "I'm going on my break."

Vicki raised an eyebrow at her as she left but didn't try and question her attitude. Willow did as she planned, and escaped out through the back of the restaurant. As soon as she was out in the cold night, she lit a cigarette. She was beyond irritated that her useless boss was forcing her to work extra hours. It wasn't fair. She was pretty sure that it was against the law or something for him to have her do overtime and not pay her for it.

Willow shook her head and angrily inhaled on her cigarette. She needed this job, so it wasn't like she could just up and leave. She was desperate, despite the crappy pay. Money was money at the end of the day, and she and Raven always somehow managed to scrounge up enough money to pay for bills and food.

Willow breathed out, releasing smoke from her lungs. She stared at the night sky, spotting a glowing ball slowing gliding across the blackness. Willow wished she was as free as this comet seemed to be. It just wasn't fair.

She rested her head against the brick wall for a second, and glanced down the alleyway. She saw people lighting eachother's candles and also watching the comet. Closing her eyes and taking one last breath of her cigarette, she muttered, "Fuck it." And flicked her cigarette to the ground and made her way out to the crowd of people that had gathered in the town centre.

Willow shuddered as she left the alleyway, wishing she had put her jacket on. Her brown eyes scanned the crowd, spotting Matt, Caroline and Bonnie together with their candles lit. Willow hadn't gotten one yet, and looked around for where she could get one, when someone came up next to her. "Here." Raven said to her, handing her unlit candle.

Willow raised her eyebrows at him in question. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh, it's nice to see you too." Raven muttered sarcastically, rolling his eyes before lighting her candle with his. "If you must know, I took your advice. I'm here with a few friends." He gestured to where his group of friends were. Willow recognised them as friends from work.

Willow smirked, "So now _I'm_ the one telling _you_ what do? Hmm. Nice. It's good to mix things up a bit." Willow chuckled. "Now, remember to do my laundry this weekend too."

"In your dreams." Raven snorted. His blue eyes watched his sister and saw her slightly tense body language. "Okay, what's happened?"

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb. Something's happened. What?"

"Nothing." Willow grunted, watching the flame on her candle flicker.

"Oh, now I definitely know something is up." He nudged her gently. "C'mon. Tell me."

Willow moved her gaze back to her brother. "I said nothing, Raven." Her tone was hard as steel and she leaned away from him, becoming closed off. Raven sighed and rubbed his face with his free hand. "Go back to your friends." Before he could question her more, she made a brisk exit, walking into the crowd of people.

* * *

Willow kept her back towards the crowd as she walked away from Raven; she was trying to see if he was following her. She continued to watch, when her back collided with a body. Willow stumbled forward, but the force wasn't enough to cause her to lose her balance. She turned around to apologise, when she saw who it was. A happy smile immediately made it's way across her lips.

"Stefan, hey." Willow greeted.

"Hey." Stefan replied, smiling down at her.

"We really need to stop meeting like this." Willow snickered.

Stefan shrugged his shoulders, "Nah. I think it's kind of poetic."

Willow tilted her head, her eyes brightening up at the concept. Stefan saw it, but he also saw her immediately try to hide it by shrugging her shoulders and smirking at him. "Whatever, dude. I just think one of us needs to start watching where we're going."

"That'd be you. Since you were the one walking backwards and I was just standing here, minding my own business."

Willow waved a hand dismissively at him. "Pfft."

Stefan chuckled lightly and moved closer to her. "So, how's work been? It's been pretty busy tonight after all."

Stefan saw the pretty smile slip from her face, only to be replaced by an angry scowl. "Fucking sucks." She spat.

Stefan blinked in surprise at her harsh words. "Woah. What's happened? Your boss giving you a hard time again?"

Willow glanced at him side on, unsure whether to speak to him about it. But she needed to vent, and the only reason she didn't tell Raven about it was because he would try and sort it all out for her and probably cause her to be fired in the end.

She took a deep breath and passed her candle from hand to hand. "My boss is just being his usual asshole self. Making me work til we close tonight, even though I've done my hours and he's probably not gonna pay me overtime for it either."

Stefan frowned, "That's not fair. Or legal."

Willow sighed in exhaustion, and moved her gaze to Stefan. Willow saw the worry in Stefan's eyes and it just made her feel guilty, but also special at the same time because that meant he cared for her well-being. "There's nothing I can do about it. I need the money so..."

Stefan watched her intently for a few seconds, before moving his gaze up to the sky, where the comet was. Maybe there was something he could do, just to help her a little. He didn't like using his compulsion on people, but maybe for this circumstance he could. It was all in order to help out a friend after all. Compelling her boss to pay her fairly wasn't exactly manipulation or making him do something bad. It was actually making her boss pay his friend her right wage in order for her to survive. It was the right thing to do. He nodded discretely to himself.

"Don't worry." Stefan told her, eyes still on the lonely comet. "It'll be okay."

Willow sent him a confused look, her eyebrows scrunched together. "Yeah, whatever you weirdo." Stefan just smiled. "So, what have you been up to? What's got you here all alone?" Willow knew that he didn't have many friends (she didn't understand why), but she still didn't like the idea of him being alone all the time.

"Ugh... well, I just spoke with Elena." He told her. Willow held back an eye roll. "But she's mad at me." He mumbled.

"Mad at you?" Willow repeated in confusion. "For what?" She couldn't think of one thing that Elena could be mad about with Stefan. He was lovely and kind.

Stefan let out a disgruntled sigh, "She came by today and... I may have been a bit cold with her." Willow waited for him to explain. "She met my older brother."

"Brother?" Willow echoed. "You have a brother?" Willow narrowed her eyes at him thoughtfully. "Have you told me this? 'Cause I'm pretty sure you haven't."

"No. We're not very close." He told her.

Willow frowned sadly at this. Even though she gave her brother a hard time, she couldn't imagine not having him in her life. She did love her brother, so much, she just gave him a run for his money. "Oh. So, what? She wasn't happy with finding out now that you have a brother?"

"Not exactly." He muttered. Willow waited patiently for him to continue. "Damon, my brother, told her about... an ex-girlfriend."

Willow tsked. "Oh, man. That sucks." She looked sympathetically at him. "She didn't take it too well, huh?"

"Nope."

Willow knew she could use this opportunity to get Elena out of the picture, so that she could have the chance to have Stefan notice her. But she could see how sad he was at the fact that Elena may not want to talk to him anymore. Willow let out a breath, "Just... give her time to figure things out. She'll come to you once she's thought things through."

"You think?" Stefan asked her quietly.

"Yeah." Willow replied just as quietly.

Stefan nudged her with his shoulder, blowing out his candle as he did so. "Thanks a lot."

"Yeah, no problem." Willow mumbled, blowing her candle out too. "I gotta get back to work." She told him. She gingerly punched him in the arm affectionately. "See you later, Romeo."

Stefan rolled his eyes at the nickname. "See you around, _Jean." _He smirked at her widened eyes at what he had called her.

Willow glowered at him before stomping forward. "How the hell did you know about that?" Willow hissed.

Stefan tapped his nose, smirking knowingly down at her. Willow narrowed her eyes at him, "If you tell anyone that that is my middle name-"

"Secret's safe with me." He promised her with a hand over his heart.

"It better be." She told him sternly before stomping off back to work.

* * *

As soon as Willow got back inside the restaurant she went in search of Vicki to tell her to go on break. But there was no sign of the girl. Willow looked everywhere for her, but could not find her. Worry began to set in as she knew the girl probably wasn't feeling that great from the bite marks she had. Willow bit her lip, and glanced around for Jeremy. He may know where Vicki is. She saw him with a table that had Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, Matt and Tyler gathered around the table. She didn't want to go over because of Tyler, but Vicki was more important.

So Willow managed to muster up the courage and walked over confidently towards the table. "Hey." Willow called out to them. "Have you guys seen Vicki?"

"That's what I was wondering." Jeremy answered her. Willow glanced around at the table, and saw the tension on the table.

It was Matt who spoke up though. "You know what, how about you all just shut up and help me find my sister?"

"We'll check the back." Bonnie said.

"I'll check the square." Matt told them, and Jeremy insisted on going with him. Willow went off to search the bathroom, not in the mood to deal with Jeremy and Elena's drama right now. So she left them arguing as she went in search for Vicki.

Willow pushed open the ladies' bathroom. It was eerily silent. It reminded her of something in a horror movie. She could hear water dripping from a tap, and a draft was coming through a little window.

"Vicki?" Willow called, wondering if she was in the stalls. She moved forward, pushing the doors open but finding no-one in there. Willow sighed, and rubbed her face.

Willow went to leave the bathroom to search for Vicki somewhere else. Suddenly, Willow felt uneasy. Willow's heart rate peeked and was about to turn around, when a hand clamped over her mouth. Her eyes widened in terror and she immediately started to struggle, and grabbed at his hand. An arm wrapped around her waist, constricting around her painfully like a boa constricter.

Willow dug her nails into his hands and kicked and wriggled her body in a desperate attempt to escape. She could feel a cool breath whispering down her neck and struggled harder. But it seemed her attempts were futile.

"Shh." A deep voice cooed in her ear. But it didn't calm her one bit. The man turned her around quickly, blue eyes meeting dark brown. Her mind suddenly halting, though she still continued to struggle. "Stop struggling." He told her calmly. Instantly, her body stopped moving. He kept his hand over mouth but released her waist. "And don't scream." He removed his hand from her mouth, and although everything in her being was telling her to scream for help, she didn't. _Couldn't_.

He placed his hands on either side of her face almost delicately. He stroked her cheeks with his thumbs, making sure to keep eye contact with her. "You probably don't remember me, but we met the other night." He smirked at her, showing her his teeth. She swallowed. "It was interesting." He took a deep breath. "Anyway, I said that I had plans for you, and I do. I'm gonna need you to do something for me, Pigeon."

Willow let out a shaky breath.


	13. Harrowing

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Polyvore, Tumblr and 8tracks all on my profile.**

* * *

Not shy of a spark,  
A knife twists at the thought that I should fall short of the mark,  
Frightened by the bite though its no harsher than the bark,  
Middle of adventure, such a perfect place to start

But I crumble completely when you cry,  
It seems like once again you've had to greet me with goodbye,  
I'm always just about to go and spoil a surprise,  
Take my hands off of your eyes too soon and a smile

**\- 505 by Arctic Monkeys**

* * *

Chapter Thirteen - Harrowing

The night was coming to an end and Raven was saying goodnight to his friends, and making his way over to the Mystic Grill with the intent on taking his sister home with him. Her shift had finished a half hour ago, but Raven figured she would stay out a little longer in order to spend time with Jeremy or someone else. He wished she made an effort to branch out and make new friends, but she had isolated herself too much from everyone with her stand-off attitude, and honestly she could be quite intimidating when she wanted to be.

Raven entered the restaurant, his eyes searching for his little sister. He frowned when he saw no sign of her. Had she gone home already? Raven rolled his eyes; it would be typical of her to worry him like this. He knew she didn't mean it (sometimes), but honestly, it was starting to get old real fast.

Raven sighed, looking around the restaurant, asking people that he knew if they had seen Willow anywhere, but no-one had. He spotted a girl he thought he recognised, and tapped her on the shoulder. The woman turned around and Raven was surprised to see that it was the woman that had come into the shop the other day; Kayla Matthews. Raven blinked his blue eyes several times for a moment, confused as to why she was here since she said she went to Whitmore College and it was quite a distance to get to Mystic Falls.

"Oh! It's you." Kayla said, also surprised to see him.

Raven swallowed nervously, his heart racing all of a sudden, "Um... yeah. It's me..."

Kayla raised an eyebrow at him, confused by his behaviour and why he had walked up to her. "Hey...?"

"Hi..." Raven muttered quietly, before blinking his eyes rapidly to snap himself out of this behaviour. He didn't want her to think he was a weirdo. "Yeah, hey! Um, I'm sorry to bother you. I didn't expect to see you here."

Kayla laughed shyly, "Yeah, it's my first time here." She gestured to some girls behind her, who were watching them intensely while whispering to one another and smirking. It made Raven feel more nervous.

"I thought you went to Whitmore College. It's quite a drive to get here."

"Yeah, I do. We heard about this comet festival, and we thought that we'd come and check it out." She told him with a smile.

Raven nodded his head. "Did you enjoy?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "Sure."

Raven smirked at her. "It's okay. You can say no." He leant forward, pretending to whisper. "I won't tell any of these townies."

Kayla laughed at him, showing her white teeth. "No, I really did enjoy. It was... different." She glanced around, "So, how's my car coming, Mr. Mechanic?"

"Oh, yeah. I should have it fixed by tomorrow. You can come by and pick it up, if you want."

Kayla sighed in relief. "Oh, that's so great. I never realised how hard everything was without a car." Raven smiled in understanding at her. Kayla glanced back at her friends who smirked at her. She scowled at them. She quickly moved her attention back to Raven. "So, um... was there something that you wanted or...?"

Raven jolted at the question. He had actually forgotten about his sister. This girl had gotten him to forget about the issues surrounding his sister. Raven furrowed his brow. "Is everything okay?" Kayla asked him in concern.

Raven cleared his throat. "I was just looking for my sister. I thought you were someone who knew us, who could tell me if they saw her or something. You don't know her so..."

Kayla shrugged her shoulders, "I can still help. Maybe I have seen her around in passing."

"Okay." Raven answered and pulled out his phone, finding a picture of his sister and showing it to her.

"Oh, she's a waitress here, right? I've seen her serving food to people in here."

"But have you seen her anywhere else? Outside or something?"

Kayla shook her head at him. "I'm really sorry, but no."

Raven sighed tiredly and rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands. Kayla, seeing how worried he was, placed a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, if I see her I'll be sure to tell her you were looking for her." She smiled reassuringly at him. "Or..." She started almost nervously. "You could give me your number so that I can text you or something."

Raven nodded, happy to have someone help him around here. "Thank you. That would really be helpful." He gave her his number quickly, knowing that he needed to get back to finding Willow. "Her name's Willow, by the way. And if you talk to her, try not to get... freaked out. She can be intimidating sometimes."

Kayla giggled. "Thanks for the heads up."

Raven took a reluctant step back from the beautiful woman. "You'll text me if you see her or if you talked to her, yeah?"

Kayla gave him a mischievous smirk. "Oh, that number wasn't for help in finding your sister." Her smirk turned into a grin at his dumbfounded expression, before waving at him and turning back to her friends.

Raven swallowed, his throat feeling dry. He smiled happily to himself, before leaving the restaurant in search of his sister.

* * *

Stefan was in the middle of talking to Matt when he heard Vicki's voice coming from the Mystic Grill rooftop. He immediately excused himself, made sure no-one was around before leaping onto the rooftop of the restaurant. Stefan was angry to see Damon not only holding Vicki over the edge of the building, but also Willow. Now he was furious.

"No! No!" Vicki cried, tears streaming down her face. Damon had a grip on both of the girls, though he kept pushing them closer to the edge, but he would pull them back everytime.

"Shh." Damon whispered into Vicki's ear. "I'm not gonna drop you." With his head still pressed against Vicki's, he spoke to Stefan. "Not bad." He said, commenting on his brother jumping onto the rooftop. "Have you been eating bunnies?"

Willow scrunched her face up at this question, but otherwise stayed quiet. She was terrified, but Damon had still told her to keep quiet and not struggle with him. Vicki on the other hand had not been told the same thing.

"Let them go." Stefan demanded.

Damon raised an eyebrow at Stefan. "Really?" He shrugged his shoulders carelessly. "Okay." With a good push, he forced the two girls to teeter over the ledge of the roof. Willow gasped, her arms going out to try and grab something, while Vicki screamed hysterics.

"No, no, no!" Stefan insisted, taking a few steps forward.

Quickly, Damon threw Vicki to Stefan, and pulled Willow against his chest, an arm around her throat and one hand holding one of her wrists. "Oh, relax." Willow shifted in his grip slightly, not really struggling, but Damon tightened his grip on her neck. Willow wheezed and squeezed her eyes shut.

"What's happening?" Vicki sniffled.

Both brothers ignored her as Damon spoke to Stefan. "I don't need either of these girls to be dead, but you might." Stefan narrowed his eyes as he watched Damon switch Willow to his other arm. It worried him that Willow wasn't reacting the same as Vicki. It occurred to him though that Damon had most likely compelled her to be quiet and not fight him. Stefan stared into Willow's eyes and he could see the fear in them. He pressed his lips into a thin line and moved his attention back to his murderous brother. Neither of these girls were dying tonight.

"What attacked you the other night?" Damon asked Vicki.

Vicki shook her head, not really caring about that at the moment. "I don't know. An animal."

"Are you sure about that? Think. Think about it. Think really hard. What attacked you."

Vicki gasped, and looked up. Willow saw the realisation come over Vicki, and then the very obvious fear in the girls eyes. "A vampire."

Damon's questions didn't stop, and neither did his death grip around Willow's neck. "Who did this to you?"

"You did!" Vicki yelled.

"Wrong!"

"Don't." Stefan mumbled.

Willow coughed slightly, but she was still trying to listen as to what was going on. Except she was beginning to see double due to the lack of oxygen, so she had no idea of what was going on until she was suddenly flung to the ground. Willow coughed loudly, wheezing and gasping to allow as much air in as possible.

"Don't go near her, Stefan, or I will rip her heart out." Willow glanced up at the sound of Damon's voice, her eyes turning to Stefan. She could see that he had taken a few steps towards her, arms outstretched to help her. But he stopped immediately at his threat. Willow looked back at Damon with hatred, seeing Vicki in his arms again. Worry set into her and she slowly got to her feet.

Damon had his hands on either side of Vicki's head, looking into her eyes just like he had done to Willow the other time. "Stefan Salvatore did this to you." He told her, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Stefan Salvatore did this to me." Vicki repeated.

Willow swallowed, her throat hurting. She wanted to say something, anything. But she could do something. Damon had only told her not to struggle against him; he never said anything about fighting back to help Vicki. She heard Stefan speaking, but wasn't listening. Willow managed to force herself to move towards them, Damon too focused on mind-controlling Vicki than her, and Stefan worried about making a move and one of the girls being killed. Willow grabbed Vicki and pulled her back, away from Damon. This actually surprised Damon, as he locked his icy blue eyes onto her molten brown ones.

Defiance was clearly written on her face, and Damon seemed like he admired her bravery (or stupidity) to face him. But it immediately became murderous as he reached over and grabbed her arm, twisting it painfully behind her back and clamped his hand around her throat again. "That was very, very stupid." Damon hissed into her ear.

"Damon, don't." Stefan pleaded, with Vicki standing beside him, looking frightened. Willow didn't blame her.

"You know, maybe I should've just used Pigeon here." He twisted her arm a little, almost to breaking point. Willow cried out in pain. "She's your new bestie, right, Stef?" Damon pressed his cheek against hers, having to bend slightly though due to her short height. "You could drink bestie's blood, you know. Drink her blood and make that girl over there forget everything."

"No." Stefan told him shortly.

Damon let out a snort. "No?" He laughed in Willow's ear and she flinched which just caused her more pain. "You have two choices; you can feed and make her forget." He nudged Willow slightly, wanting Stefan to feed off of his new friend. "Or you can let her run, screaming 'vampire' through the town square."

Stefan scoffed, taking a tentative step towards Damon and Willow. "That's what this is about? You wan to expose me?"

"No!" Damon exclaimed, his grip loosening on Willow slightly. "I want you to remember who you are!" He re-tightened his grip again, bring his mouth to Willow's neck. "Besides, if you don't feed on this girl, then I will." Stefan knew that he wasn't joking.

"Why? So what, so I'll feed? So I'll kill? So I'll remember what it's like to be brothers again? You know what, let her go." He gestured to a trembling Vicki behind him. "Let her tell everyone that vampires have returned to Mystic Falls. Let them chain me up, and let them drive a stake through my heart, because at least I'll be free of you."

Damon blinked, actually seeming surprised by Stefan's revelation. His grip fully loosened on Willow as he sighed. "Huh... Wow." He pushed Willow roughly towards Stefan who caught her and held her to him. "Come here, sweetheart." He said to Vicki.

"No!" She whimpered.

"It's okay." Damon reassured. He leant forward and seemed to be whispering something into Vicki's ear. Whatever it was it had calmed Vicki down completely.

The girl got up, and glancing around. "What happened? Where am I?" She asked in a slurred voice.

"You okay?" Stefan asked her with concern.

Vicki shrugged her shoulders. "I took some pills, man. I'm good." Vicki began making her way to the door of the rooftop to go back into the restaurant. She looked back. "You coming, Will?"

Willow nodded her head, but said nothing. Vicki shrugged her shoulders and left.

Willow let out a breath, stepping closer to Stefan who pushed her behind him as Damon came toward them. "It's good to be home. I think I might stay a while." He shrugged his shoulders and gave the two of them a sadistic smirk. "This town could use a bit of a wake-up call, don't you think?"

"What are you up to, Damon?"

"That's for me to know and for you to...dot dot dot. Give Elena my best." He told his brother cryptically. He was about to leave before stopping before Willow. "Oh, almost forgot." He went to reach for her, but Stefan grabbed his arm.

"Don't touch her." Stefan snarled.

"Woah!" Damon chuckled and yanked his arm out of his grip. "I was just gonna give her voice back. Have you noticed that she hasn't said one snarky word?"

Reluctantly, Stefan allowed Damon to get closer. But when Damon went to reach for her again, Stefan stopped him. "I said _don't touch her._"

Damon eyed him curiously, before rolling his eyes. He looked into Willow's eyes, pupils dilating. Stefan watched, frowning when his friend's face lost all emotion as Damon began controlling her mind. "You're now free to say and do whatever you want." Damon told her. Stefan expected his brother to compel her to forget this incident, but he didn't. He wanted to say more, but honestly he wanted Damon away from Willow rather than have him mess with her mind further.

It was silent for a few seconds as Damon disappeared in a blink of an eye.

Until...

"What the fuck just happened, Stefan?!"


	14. Hard to Swallow

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Polyvore, Tumblr and 8tracks on my profile.**

* * *

Stranded in this spooky town,  
Stoplights are swaying and the phone lines are down  
Floor is crackling cold,  
She took my heart, I think she took my soul  
With the moon I run,  
Far from the carnage of the fiery sun

Driven by the strangle of vein  
Showin' no mercy I do it again  
Open up your eyes  
You keep on crying, baby I'll bleed you dry  
Skies are blinking at me  
I see a storm bubbling up from the sea

And it's coming closer

**\- Closer by Kings of Leon**

* * *

Chapter Fourteen - Hard to Swallow

Stefan and Willow found themselves still on that rooftop. Willow was leaning against the door way that lead back into the restaurant, her head in her hands. Her mind was working a mile a minute, trying to comprehend what had just happened. Stefan's brother had used mind control; Damon had somehow made Willow be silent through this entire ordeal, and convince Vicki to forget the whole thing had even happened. The two brothers had gone on about feeding on hers and Vicki's blood, mentioned vampire god knows how many times. Willow squeezed her eyes shut, her head starting to hurt. It was time to get some answers.

"Stefan, please. What's going on?" Willow begged in a croaky voice. She tried to clear her throat but it seemed that Damon gripping her throat earlier had actually done some damage.

Stefan stared intently into her eyes, a morose expression on his face. "I think you know." Stefan all but whispered.

Willow shook her head defiantly. "No, Stefan, I really don't. I don't know anything!" She spat, forcing herself to stand up straight. "None of this makes any sense!" She yelled, clearly getting upset.

Stefan swallowed and let out a sigh, his breath appearing in a small fog due to the cold night air. He never wanted it to come to this. Maybe Willow would've found out one day, but he wanted to tell her himself rather than her discovering it because her life had been put in danger. But this was the hand that he had been dealt with. And with everything that had just happened he thought that Willow had a right to know everything. "What did you see, Willow?" He asked her.

"What?" Willow muttered.

"What you saw, and what you heard, it's all true."

Willow shook her head. "No, no. Vampires aren't real, okay? They're not!" She insisted. "They're made up."

"You know it's true, Willow."

Willow fell back against the door, muttering to herself. "No, no, no, no. Is.. am I... am I going crazy?" She turned to Stefan, her eyes looking almost manic, "Is that what's happening? I'm losing my mind again?"

Stefan frowned in concern. He had seen her yesterday when she was acting like this, when she had seen his face change at the sight of blood. Her behaviour was quite frightening and it made him extremely worried for where this idea that she was 'crazy' came from. Why was she so paranoid about if anything was real or not?

"No, Willow." Stefan began, reaching for her hands. She flinched when his fingers brush her knuckles. Stefan faltered. "Willow, listen to me. You are not imagining things. Everything that you heard and saw up here happened. Vampires are real. They're very real and very dangerous."

Willow took a deep breath, looking back to Stefan. She stared at him intently, her brown eyes boring into his green ones. It almost unnerved Stefan at how intently she was looking at him. Suddenly, she blinked and shifted away from him. "And... you're one of them. You're a vampire..." She practically choked. "All that stuff your brother was saying... about drinking my blood..." She took a deep breath and watched him. "Is that what you do? Drain people dry? Is that what all those dead bodies have been? You and him going around feeding?"

"No." Stefan told her sternly. "None of that is me. That's not what I do. It's all Damon. He's the one killing people."

Willow glared at him. "Why the hell should I believe you?"

Stefan blinked. He was surprised, and admittedly, hurt by her question. Since they had met there had been nothing but trust between them. Though they clearly didn't know everything about one another because they had only knowing eachother for a couple of weeks. But Stefan already felt like he had made a friendship with her that would last. And to see her so distraught, moving away from him because she was _afraid_ of him, accusing him of killing people. Her fear and distrust of him hurt just as much as Elena walking away from him earlier that night.

"Because that's not who I am." _Not anymore, _his brain decided to point out. "I don't hurt people. I don't _want_ to hurt people." Stefan said to her despondently.

Willow continued to eye him with uncertainty. For all she knew he could be lying. What if he was just trying to gain her trust, lowering her guard so that he could attack her at any moment. And Vicki... Poor Vicki. "What about Vicki? She told me in the hospital that a vampire had attacked her." Stefan raised his eyebrows in surprise at this. "She was so sure about it. And I didn't believe it at first, but the more she went on about it and the more that I thought it over... I started to see some kind of truth in what she was saying." She swallowed. "A vampire attacked Vicki... you or Damon, or whatever."

"No, Willow, please. It wasn't me. I would never harm Vicki, or you, or anyone for that matter." He begged. Stefan was desperate for her to understand that he would never ever bring her or anyone else any harm. "It was Damon. He attacked in the woods at the party. The same goes for all those people who have been turning up dead lately."

"This is insane." She breathed.

Stefan wholeheartedly agreed with her. "I know."

Willow bowed her head, her chest rising and falling heavily. "I... I can't think straight."

Stefan stepped towards her, cautiously placing a hand on her shoulder. She stiffened but didn't move away from him. "It's a lot to take in."

"I can't take it in." She said, bring her gaze back to his. "Vampires? Vampires are real! _You're_ a vampire!" She exclaimed, while Stefan tried to get her to keep her voice down but she ignored him. "That's the stupidest thing I've ever said! What, am I in some crappy TV show or something?"

"Just relax, Willow." Stefan pleaded.

"Relax?!" Willow hissed. "How? How am I supposed to ever relax again?" Willow shook her head quickly, almost giving her whiplash. "No, no, no. I have to go. This is not real."

"Willow-"

"Stefan! Don't." Her hand reached for the door handle and she yanked it open. "This is too much. I don't need this shit! Okay? I don't! All of this is not real, and if you think it's funny to fuck with me like this then you can shove your friendship up your ass!" Once her outburst was over, she whirled around and sprinted down the steps, heading for the door that would lead her to the back entrance of the restaurant. She hot and sweaty, her heart racing as she made to open the door. She managed to open it a few inches before it was slammed shut by a force.

Willow gasped when she saw Stefan in front of her. His arm was across the door, preventing her from leaving. Willow leapt backwards, a loud gasp escaping her. Stefan didn't look threatening, or like he was going to hurt her. He just seemed extremely worried and panicked; his green eyes wide and his lips in a straight line. Willow didn't care though, because he was scaring her. She stumbled backwards, losing her footing when her heal came in contact with a step. Stefan reached forward with inhumane speed, looping his arm around her waist and pulling her against him. Willow snapped her eyes shut, leaning herself away from him.

"Willow," Stefan practically whispered. "Open your eyes, Willow."

Willow gulped, and not wanting to seem like some pathetic little girl, forced her eyes open. She didn't meat his eyes, but kept them locked his chin. "I am sorry. But this is all real. Yes, I'm a vampire. Yes, I drink blood, but not human blood." His voice was calm, but from what Willow saw earlier he was worried about her reception of him being a vampire.

Willow's eyes widened suddenly when she felt his other arm come around her shoulders. Willow was stiff in his hold. She was frightened. She had just seen Stefan use inhumane strength and speed, not to mention Damon threatening her and Vicki earlier tonight. It was all starting to make her feel freaked out. How could this be real? Vampires were imaginary; fictional creatures in love stories. So how was she standing here right now, in the arms of a vampire? One that she believed was her friend.

Willow furrowed her brows, and despite her better judgement, laid her forehead against his chest and let out a shaky sigh. Stefan closed his eyes and bowed his head and turned it towards her own, resting his cheek on her head, her soft hair tickling his cheek.

Willow moved her gaze upwards, and then closed her eyes.

Sweet Stefan... or so she thought.

* * *

Willow couldn't remember how she got home. She just knew that Stefan had used his weird mind control on her boss to let her go home, and that was that. She didn't wait for Stefan to finish, just left before anymore words could be said. He didn't follow her. Maybe he understood that she was okay to leave this time.

By the time she got home, Raven was asleep on the sofa. She watched him for a few seconds, sighed and then grabbed the throw from the back of the sofa and gently placed it over him. Without another look, she went towards the tiny bathroom. She flicked the light on, cringed at the bright light, and looked into the mirror. What looked back at her made her frown.

Her dark curls looked tangled and a mess. Her make-up was messed up; mascara and eye-liner smeared on her right eye. Her eyes looked blood shot and tired. But all of that wasn't made her frown in the first place. She had large marks on her neck and wrists. While they weren't completely showing as bruises yet, the red marks were beginning to turn a sickly dark colour. Her wrist looked the worst though; the one that Damon had twisted and held in a vice grip behind her back. It had already started to swell and darken in colour. She touched it gingerly and flinched from the pain. Willow immediately started looking for painkillers in the cabinet. She rummaged and shoved everything out of the way but found nothing. Willow huffed in anger and annoyance. Raven had probably moved them, put them somewhere that a depressed Willow would never find them.

Willow scowled, grinding her teeth together. She slammed the cabinet door shut, not caring if it woke Raven up or not. Moving away from the mirror, she shoved the bathroom door open and stormed to her bedroom, this time making sure not to slam this door. Willow practically fell onto her bed, her hair fanning out behind her.

She tried to swallow everything that had happened tonight. Now that she was away from the situation, she could think more clearly.

Vampires were real.

Willow frowned, scrunching her brows together. Like before when she had visited Vicki in hospital, she had made the connection that the attacks could have been caused by vampires because the wounds Vicki and the others had gotten was only on their neck and nowhere else. Plus, they had all lost a lot blood. So she could accept that. Accept that Damon was a vampire, running around hurting people even though she really shouldn't.

It was Stefan that she was finding hard to accept.

It sounded wrong to believe that Damon was a vampire and not Stefan. But that was because she trusted Stefan. Stefan was her friend. Stefan was kind, caring, funny and sweet. It was just hard for her to accept that Stefan was... well, a monster basically.

Willow sighed and turned onto her side, pulling herself into a fetal position. Why was she being so judgey of Stefan? If she was supposed to be his friend then maybe she should give him the benefit of the doubt. Willow groaned, annoyed at her own thoughts. She just seemed to be going back and forth and it was making her more exhausted than she already was. Willow shifted on her bed, kicked off her shoes and moved to the top of her bed. Maybe it'd be better if she just slept on it. If she even could sleep.

But as soon as her head hit the pillow she could feel herself starting to drift off. Her eyes closed completely, and she was about to be asleep completely when she heard a ping signalling that she had a text message.

"Whoever is texting me better have a death wish." Willow growled as she yanked her phone out of her pocket. She looked at her phone, just wanting to know who it was. She saw that she had 7 phone calls from Raven and 8 text messages. All wondering where she was. She rolled her eyes, going to the recent message that she had gotten.

_Sorry for everything. Sweet dreams. - S_

Willow felt her hear flutter at the message. She brought the phone to her chest, and smiled. That one message had sealed everything. She would go to him tomorrow, apologise for acting like the worst friend ever, and accept him completely for who he was.

* * *

**That ending kinda sucks, but whatever. It's late and I have a long shift in work tomorrow. Anyway, that's finally the end of the episode. We're now on episode 3. Good grief! This is taking forever! It's gonna take me 84 years before I manage to actually finish season 1 at this rate! Blame work for that. Like usual, I'm not sure when I'll be able to update next. Just whenever I get five minutes. I'll correct grammar when I have the chance. I hope you enjoy! Thanks for reading, favouriting, following and reviewing. I really appreciate it. **


	15. Disintegrating

**Disclaimer: I do not own The Vampire Diaries**

**Polyvore, Tumblr and 8tracks all on my profile.**

_**TRIGGER WARNING: SELF-HARMING**_

* * *

There's a cold heart, buried beneath,  
and warm blood, running deep  
Secrets - are mine to keep  
protected by silent sleep  
I'm not ready, I'm not ready  
for the weight of us, for the weight of us  
for the weight of us, for the weight of all of us

The time has come, let us be brave  
The time has come, let us be brave  
Shake off all of your sins

**\- The Weight of Us by Sanders Bohlke **

* * *

Chapter Fifteen - Disintegrating

Willow hated a lot of things in life; her middle name, chocolate, the boy that used to live across her street who always stole her football. But the one thing she hated more than anything else in life was her therapy sessions.

Willow really couldn't distinguish what made her hate it so much, afterall she only came once a month now. But maybe it was the room where she had her sessions; it was cosy but then it wasn't. It had a small sofa situated by the window, facing into the room. She knew she didn't like that, she liked to look outside. The positioning of the sofa also made it so that she was not very close to the door. Less chance of escape. She didn't like that either. The was no desk, but a cushion chair that matched the sofa that stood opposite the sofa, so she had to look directly at her therapist (she kept her head down though). The walls were covered in wallpaper that had a hideous flower pattern on it, something she thought belonged in the nineties. A big canvas painting was hung behind the therapist; it was a painting of a hill. Nothing else. Just a few trees and the bright blue sky. Willow didn't know why but it made her feel sad.

"Willow?"

Willow finally looked up, her hair covering her eyes though as she finally looked at her therapist for the first time that day. Her name was Dorothy James, she was in her mid fifties, and was always dressed nicely. Willow took in her face, gauging her reacting to seeing her today. Her therapist's eyes were big, absorbing everything. Every action Willow made then Dorothy James would see it straight away, no matter how small, and then analyse it. How she looked (Willow was sure she looked like she just got run over by a truck), write that down in her notes. But despite this Willow could see the warmth and empathy she was trying to convey as she smiled at Willow. Willow did like Dorothy, she was a nice lady and didn't sugar coat it with her. Willow just hated coming here.

"Hm?" Willow responded despondently.

Dorothy clasped her hands together and crossed one leg of the other. She was trying to be casual. It wasn't working for Willow. "I asked you how you had been lately."

Willow sighed. Why did she have to ask? She could see how bad she was. "Fine." She lied.

Dorothy tilted her head a little. Willow knew that she hated it when she gave one word answers. But Dorothy had the patience of a saint and never once complained or nagged for more. Willow had been coming here for over a year and had been with Dorothy since the very beginning. This woman knew her well and what she could be like in a bad mood.

"How do you feel?" She asked.

Willow's brows furrowed. "Isn't that the same question?"

Dorothy shook her head, a smile on her face. "I'm asking how you're feeling now. Your emotions in this moment."

Willow scoffed and looked away. "You know how I feel about coming here."

"No, at this point in time. Right now. Not the place, not the location. Where you are in your life right now." Dorothy reiterated.

Willow watched her, her dark eyes narrowing as she thought about what she was saying. There was too much going on right now; so much that it actually made her feel dizzy just thinking about all of the drama lately. What Tyler had done to her a few weeks ago still plagued her mind. She still felt disgusted if she caught herself in the mirror. Her fingers on her right hand gingerly rubbed at the scarred and injured skin on her left wrist. She had continued with her self-harming, more so since the incident with Stefan, Damon and Vicki last week. The bruises on her wrists courtesy of Damon were visible but she had covered them up with large bracelets. Willow closed her eyes and swallowed deeply.

Dorothy noticed this and frowned, worry written all over her face. The therapist leaned forward, scanning the girl over. Looking more closely she could see a greenish bruise on her neck which her hair was doing a good job at covering up. She also saw that on Willow's wrists were more bruises, but on her left wrist was also burn and scratch marks. Dorothy sucked in a breath; dread casting over her like a shadow.

Immediately Dorothy got off her chair, crouching in front of Willow. With trepidation, Dorothy gently reached for and took Willow's hands in her own. She felt like she was punched in the stomach once she pulled the bracelet off. Horrific, burnt red marks scarred her skin. Now scabbed over, but look further up she could see that Willow had continued to do more damage to herself. She felt tears prick at her eyes. How could she have let this poor girl fall back so far? And the bruises? Dorothy wasn't sure if she wanted to know, but knew that she'd have to delve deeper into this. Something else had to be happening to Willow. God, Dorothy knew she was going to have to completely re-write Willow's care notes.

Despite Willow's throat feeling tight and constricted, she managed to choke out; "I don't know. I don't know what I'm feeling."

* * *

It had been a week since Willow had found out about vampires and Stefan had not seen her since that night. She had avoided him every chance she got. All the classes that they shared together, she would not turn up to. He understood her avoiding him; it was a lot to take in, and honestly, he wouldn't blame her if she was scared of him now. Stefan frowned sadly at this. He would be devastated if he lost Willow in his life. She had quickly become someone very important to him and he didn't want to lose her But he knew that by her now knowing about vampires, and more specifically Damon, that she would be in great danger now.

Stefan sighed as he walked beside his now girlfriend, Elena. Elena had come to him the night of the comet and the two got to talking and one thing lead to another. And Stefan couldn't be more happy. Elena was such a bright light in his darkness. He could see her old self coming back; the bubbly, outgoing teenage girl. It was nice to see her smile more. Currently, the new couple were walking through the highschool halls, Elena chatting happily about the dinner that she had planned in order for him and Bonnie to bond. Stefan was happy to come, eager to spend more time with Elena as well as gain himself a new friend in Bonnie. And deep down, he was curious about his strange encounter with Bonnie last week at the Mystic Grill. She had touched his hand and spaced out, asking him what had happened to him. It was something Stefan had become intrigued by and he had a suspicion that he knew what was going on with Bonnie, especially considering the fact that she is a Bennett. Stefan had a hunch that she was related to Emily Bennett who was a witch.

The two took a right, walking into their history class and moving to their respective seats. He frowned when he saw Willow's chair empty again. Elena caught his saddened look. She blinked, glancing between the empty space and Stefan. Elena understood that Stefan and Willow were friends, but it was clear the two were close. Elena had no issues with this; he was allowed to have friends and, while Elena wasn't Willow's biggest fan she strongly believed that Willow wasn't the type of girl to flirt with a guy who was with someone else. It was petty to think of that, but she did anyway. Willow had been through something like that and Elena liked to believe that Willow wouldn't want someone else going through the same thing. So pushed those thoughts aside and touched Stefan's shoulder sympathetically. She chose to be mature and say nothing cruel about Willow. "Hey, I'm sure she's fine."

Stefan nodded his head, offering her a small smile. "Yeah, I'm sure." He didn't sound so sure, but he appreciated Elena's words. He took his place at his desk.

The lesson started shortly after, Mr. Tanner questioning students who weren't listening. "World War II end in...?" He waited with bated breath for someone to answer his question. "Anyone got anything?" He looked around, his eyes landing on a female student who was doodling in her book. "Miss. Juan?" The girl shrugged. Mr. Tanner sighed and answered. "1945."

Elena leaned over her desk as Mr. Tanner continued questioning students. She caught Stefan's attention, "Psst! FYI...Our team sucks. They could use you."

Stefan smirked and whispered back. "Can't. I'm a loner." Elena laughed at this.

At seeing Elena and Stefan chatting amongst themselves, Mr. Tanner called on Elena and began questioning her. Luckily, Stefan came to her rescue again, and Mr. Tanner began bombarding him with a string of questions, Stefan getting every single one correct. It was after Mr. Tanner had been humiliated again by Stefan that there was a knock at the classroom door. Mr. Tanner turned around and all the students turned their attention towards the open door, all of them surprised to find Willow standing in the doorway.

Stefan's eyes widened at the sight of her. It had only been a week since he had last seen her, but it may as well have been years. She looked pale; her skin somehow lost it's sun-kiss colour. Her eyes looked sunken in, like she hadn't slept in days. Her hair was down but it didn't look like she had tried to do anything with it, or if she had even brushed it.

"Sorry I'm late." Willow said to Mr. Tanner. Surprisingly, Mr. Tanner did not make an insensitive retort, but instead nodded his head and gestured for Willow to come into the room. Willow nodded back at him, saying nothing and avoiding everyone's questioning and judging gaze. She made a point to avoid walking by Stefan, instead going through Elena's row and ignoring him as he watched her go to her seat behind Bonnie. Willow accidentally caught Bonnie's gaze, who to her surprise simply smiled gently to her. Willow nodded at her and sat down, immediately placing her arms on the desk and burying her head in them.


End file.
